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CRISTOBAL,      rage  32, 


LITTLE   PRUDY   SERIES. 


FAIRY    BOOK 


BY 


SOP  HIE     MA  To  ..^^^u,^\ 


BOSTON: 

LEE     AND     SHEPARD, 

(Successors  to  Phillips,  Sajipsok,  &  Cq.) 

1865. 


c. 


M"- 


"7=^-^  ^^-j^'- 


a 

Eater«Hl,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tne  year  ldtJ5,  by 
ill  tnc  Ckrk's  Office  of  tfee  .liisirict  Court  sS'tfa.eDifltrict  of  JSlaasachutietta 


Mr\  "^.  -44.*-^*^^ 


<D>€>IS.    <Q>IP    3?A3X2E'T    XA3L,3B^ 


IS    DEDICATED 


TO     LITTXiE      BESSIE. 


IV' 


i2.i^fr^- 


LITTLE  PRUDY  SERIES. 


BY    SOPHIE    MAY. 


:>>^<^ 


I. 

LITTLE    PRUDY. 

n. 

LITTLE    PRUDY'S    SISTER    SUSY. 

ni. 

LITTLE    PRUDY'S    CAPTAIN    HORACE. 

IV. 
LITTLE    PRUDY'S    COUSIN    GRACE. 

V. 

LITTLE    PRUDY'S    FAIRY    BOOK. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

IN^TRODUCTIOX 9 

CRISTOBAL 10 

WILD  ROBIN C5 

THE  YESRER  STAR 53 

THE  WATER-KELPIE     50 

THE  LOST  SYLPHID 7i 

THE  CASTLE  OF  GEMS 100 

THE  ELF  OF  LIGHT 117 

THE  PRINCESS   HILDA 137 

GOLDILOCKS IGO 


FAIEY  BOOK. 


>>«<c 


INTRODUCTION. 

While  Prudy  was  in  Indiana  visiting  the 
Cliffords,  and  in  the  midst  of  her  trials  with 
mosquitoes,  she  said  one  day,  — 

'^  I  wouldn't  cry,  Aunt  'Ria,  only  my 
heart's  breaking.  The  very  next  person 
that  eyer  dies,  I  wish  they'd  ask  God  to 
please  stop  sending  these  awful  skeeters.  I 
can't  bear  'em  any  longer,  now,  certainly." 

There  was  a  look  of  utter  despair  on 
Prudy's  disfigured  face.  Bitter  tears  were 
trickling  from  the  two  white  puff-balls  which 
had  been  her  eyes  ;  her  forehead  and  cheeks 
were  of  a   flaming   pink,  broken   into   Kttle 

9 


10  . 


FAIRY  BOOK. 


snow-drifts  full  of  stings :  slie  looked  as  if 
she  had  just  been  rescued  from  an  angry  bee- 
hive. Altogether,  her  appearance  was  ex- 
ceedingly droll;  yet  Grace  would  not  allow 
herself  to  smile  at  her  afflicted  little  cousin. 
"  Strange/'  said  she,  "  what  makes  our  mos- 
quitoes so  imjDolite  to  strangers  !  It's  a 
downright  shame,  isn't  it,  ma,  to  have  little 
Prudy  so  imposed  upon  ?  If  I  could  only 
amuse  her,  and  make  her  forget  it ! " 

^^  Oh,  mamma,"  Grace  broke  forth  again  sud- 
denly, "  I  have  an  idea,  a  very  brilliant  idea ! 
Please  listen,  and  pay  particular  attention  ; 
for  I  shall  speak  in  a  figure,  as  Robin  says. 
There's  a  certain  small  individual  who  is  not 
to  understand." 

''  I  wouldn't  risk  that  style  of  talking,"  said 
Mrs.  Clifford,  smiling ;  '^  or,  if  you  do,  your 
figures  of  speech  must  be  very  obscure,  re- 
member." 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

*^Well,  ma/'  continued  Grace  with  a  sig- 
nificant glance  at  Prudy,  '^  what  I  was  going 
to  say  is  this :  We  wish  to  treat  certain 
young  relatives  of  ours  very  kindly  ;  don't  we, 
now?  —  certain  afflicted  and  abused  young 
relatives,  you  know. 

^'  Now,  I've  thought  of  an  entertainment. 
Ahem  !  Yesterday  I  entered  a  certain  Eng- 
lishman's house, "  —  here  Grace  pointed 
through  the  windov  towards  Mr.  Sherwood's 
cottage,  lest  her  mother  should,  by  chance, 
lose  her  meaning, —  ''I  entered  a  certain 
Englishman's  house  just  as  the  family  were 
sitting  down  to  the  table, —  festal  hoard,  I 
mean. 

*'  They  were  talking  about  mistle-toe 
boughs,  and  all  sorts  of  old-country  customs ; 
and  then  they  said  what  a  funny  time  they 
had  one  Christmas,  with  the  youngest,  about 
the  mizzle,  as  he  called  it :  do  you  remember, 
ma?  do  you  understand  ?  " 


12  FAIRY  BOOK. 

**  You  mean  little  Harvey  ?     Oh,  yes." 
*^  Pray  do  be  careful,  ma  !     Then  Mr.  Sher- 
wood said  to  his  —  I  mean,  the  hat  said  to 
the  bonnet  J  that  there  were  some  wonderful 

—  ahem  —  legends,  about  genii  and  sprites 
and  —  and  so  forth ;  not  printed,  but  written^ 
which  the  boy  liked  to  hear  when  he  was 
*  overgetting '  the  measles.  A  certain  lady, 
not  three  inches  from  your  chair,  ma,  was  the 
one  who  wrote  them  ;  and  now  "  — 

Prudy  had  turned  about,  and  the  only  rem- 
nants of  her  face  which  looked  at  all  natural 

—  that  is,  the  irises  and  pupils  of  her  swollen 
eyes  —  were  shining  with  curiosity. 

'^  There,  now,  what  is  it,  Gracie  ?  what  is 
it  you  don't  want  me  to  hear  ?  " 

Grace  laughed.  ''  Oh,  nothing  much,  dear  : 
never  mind." 

"  You  oughtn't  to  say  ^  Never  mind,'  "  pur- 
sued Prudy:  ''my  mother  tells  me  always  io 
mind." 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

'^  I  only  mean  it  isn't  any  matter,  Prudy." 

''  Oh !  do  you  ?  Then  don't  yon  care  for 
my  skeeter-bites  ?  You  always  say, '  Never 
mind  ! '     I  didn't  know  it  wasn't  any  matter^' 

^'  Now,  ma,"  Grace  went  on,  "  I  want  to  ask 
you  where  are  those  I-don't-know-what-to- 
call-'ems  ?  And  may  I  copy  them,  Cassy  and 
I,  into  a  book,  for  a  certain  afflicted  rel- 
ative?" 

'^  Yes,  yes,  on  gold-edged  paper  ! "  cried 
Prudy,  springing  up  from  the  sofa ;  ''  oh,  do, 
do ;  I'll  love  you  dearly  if  you  will !  Fairy 
stories  are  just  as  nice  !  What  little  Harvey 
Sherwood  likes,  /like,  and  I've  had  the  mea- 
sles; hut  I  shouldn't  think  his  father  and 
mother'd  wear  their  hat  and  bonnet  to  the 
dinner-table  ! " 

^'  Deary  me  !  "  laughed  Grace  ;  ^'  how  hap- 
pened that  Little  thing  to  mistrust  what  I 
meant  ?  " 


14  FAIRY  BOOK. 

"  It  would  be  strange  if  a  child  of  her  age, 
of  ordinary  abiUties,  should  oiot  understand/^ 
remarked  Mrs.  Clifford,  somewhat  amused. 
"  Next  time  you  wish  to  ask  me  any  thing 
confidentially,  I  advise  you  to  choose  a  better 
opportunity." 

*'  When  may  she,  Aunt  'Ria  ?  "  cried  Pru- 
dy,  entirely  forgetting  her  troubles;  ^^when 
may  she  write  it.  Aunt  'Ria,  she  and  Gas- 
sy?" 

*^A  pretty  piece  of  folly  it  would  be, 
wouldn't  it,  dear,  when  you  can't  read  a  Avord 
of  writing  ?  " 

"  But  Susy  can  a  little,  auntie  :  and  mother 
can  a  great  deal :  and  I'll  never  tease  'em, 
only  nights  when  I  go  to  bed,  and  days  when 
I  don't  feel  well.     Please,  Aunt  'Ria." 

"  Yes,  ma,  I  know  you  can't  refuse,"  said 
Grace. 

Mrs.  Clifford  hesitated.     '^  The  stories  are 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

yellow  with  age,  Grace ;  they  were  written 
in  my  girlhood :.  and  they  are  rather  torn  and 
disarranged,  if  I  remember.  Besides,  my 
child,  my  flowing  hand  is  difficult  to  read." 

"Oh,  mamma,  I  think  you  write  beautifully  ! 
splendidly !  " 

"  Another  objection,"  continued  Mrs.  Clif- 
ford :  "  they  are  rather  too  old  for  Prudy,  I 
should  judge." 

"  But  I  keep  argrowing,  Aunt  'Eia !  Don't 
you  s'pose  I  know  what  fairy  stories  mean  ? 
They  don't  mean  any  thing  !  You  didn't  feel 
afraid  I'd  believe  'em,  did  you  ?  I  wouldn't 
believe  'em,  I  promise  I  wouldn't;  just  as 
true's  I'm  walking  on  this  floor  ! " 

"Indeed,  I  hope  you  would  not,  little 
Prudy  ;  for  I  made  them  up  as  I  went  along. 
There  are  no  fairies  but  those  we  have  in  our 
hearts.  Our  best  thoughts  are  good  fairies ; 
and  our  worst  thoughts  are  evil  fairies." 


16  FAIRY   BOOK. 

'^  Oh,  yes,  auntie,  I  know  !  When  we  go 
bathing  in  the  ocean,  Susy  says,  ^  Let's  be  all 
clean,  so  the  spirit  of  the  water  can  enter 
our  hearts.'  And  it  does ;  but  it  goes  in  by 
our  noses." 

Mrs.  Clifford  had  tacitly  given  her  consent 
to  Grace's  copying  the  stories.  This  task 
was  performed  accordingly,  much  to  the  dis- 
gust of  Horace,  who  declared  that  of  the 
whole  number  only  the  tale  of  '^  Wild  Robin '' 
was  worth  reading. 

"  And  ^  Wild  Robin,'  "  said  Grace,  instruc- 
tively, ''  is  the  only  one  that  has  a  moral  for 
you,  Horace.  When  our  soldiers  are  starv- 
ing so,  it  is  really  dreadful  to  see  how  you 
dislike  corned  beef  and  despise  vegetables ! 
Such  a  dainty  boy  as  you  needs  to  be  stolen 
a  while  by  the  fairies." 

"  Well,  Gracie,  I  reckon  you'd  run  double- 
quick   to   pull  me  off  the  milk-white  steed. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

YoTi  couldn't  get  along  without  me  two  days. 
Look  here  !  what  story  has  a  moral  for  you, 
miss  ?  It's  the  '  Water-kelpie.'  You  are  like 
the  man  that  married  Moneta :  you're  always 
wanting  money." 

"  But  it's  for  the  soldiers,  Horace,"  said 
Grace,  with  a  smile  of  forbearance  toward 
her  brother.  '^  I'm  willing  to  give  all  my 
pocket-money ;  and  I  mean  the  other  girls 
shall.  If  we're  stingy  to  our  country  these 
days,  we  ought  to  be  shot !  *  Princess  Hilda's' 
the  best  story  in  the  book.  I  wish  Isa  Har- 
rington could  read  it !  She  wouldn't  make 
any  more  mischief  between  Cassy  and  me  !  " 

''  I  like  '  The  Lost  Sylphid'  the  best,"  said 
Prudy ;  '^  but  ivas  she  a  great  butterfly,  do 
you  s'pose  ?  The  stories  are  all  just  as  nice  ; 
just  like  book  stories.  I  shouldn't  think  any- 
body made  'em  up.     Aunt  'Ria  can  write  as 


18  FAIRY   BOOK. 

good  as  tlie  big  girls  to  tlie  grammar-scliool. 
I  promised  not  to  believe  a  single  word  ;  and 
I  sba'n't.  I'm  glad  she  called  it  my  Fairy 
Book." 


CRISTOBAL.  19 


CEISTOBAL. 

A   CHRISTMAS    LEGEND. 

Long  ago,  in  fair  Burgundy,  lived  a  lad 
named  Cristobal.  His  large  dark  eyes  lay 
under  the  fringe  of  his  lids,  full  of  shadows  j 
eyes  as  lustrous  as  purple  amethysts,  and, 
alas !   as.  sightless. 

He  had  not  always  been  blind,  as  perhaps 
a  wild  and  passionate  lad,  named  Jasper, 
might  have  told  you.  On  a  certain  Christ- 
mas Eve,  a  merry  boy  was  little  Cristobal, 
as  he  pattered  along  to  church,  trying  with 
his  wooden  shoes  to  keep  time  to  the  dancing 
bells.  In  his  hand  he  carried  a  Christmas 
candle  of  various  colors.    Never,  he  thought. 


20  FAIRY   BOOK. 

was  a  rainbow  so  exquisitely  tinted  as  that 
candle.  Carefully  he  watched  it  when  it 
winked  its  sleepy  eye,  eagerly  begging  his 
mamma  to  snuff  it  awake  again.  How  gayly 
the  streets  twinkled  with  midnight  lanterns  I 
And  how  mortifying  to  the  stars  to  be  out- 
done by  such  a  grand  illumination  ! 

A  new  painting  had  just  been  hung  in  the 
church,  —  the  Holy  Child,  called  by  the  peo- 
ple ''  Little  Jesus,"  with  an  aureola  about  his 
head.  Cristobal  looked  at  this  picture  with 
reverent  delight ;  and,  to  his  surprise,  the 
Holy  Child  returned  his  gaze  :  wherever  he 
went,  the  sweet,  sorrowful  eyes  followed  him. 
There  was  a  wondrous  charm  in  that  plead- 
ing glance.  Why  was  it  so  wistful  ?  What 
had  those  deep  eyes  to  say  ? 

The  air  was  cloudy  with  the  breath  of 
frankincense  and  myrrh.  Deep  voices  and 
the  heavy  organ  sounded    chants    and    an- 


CKISTOBAL.  21 

thems.  There  were  prayers  to  the  coming 
Messiah,  and  the  sprinkKng  of  holy  water; 
and,  at  last,  the  midnight  mass  was  ended. 

Then,  in  tumult  and  great  haste,  the  peo- 
ple went  home  for  merry-makings.  Cris- 
tobal, eager  to  see  what  the  Yule-log  might 
have  in  store  for  him,  rushed  out  of  the 
church  with  careless  speed,  stumbling  over  a 
boy  who  stood  in  his  way,  —  the  haughty,  in- 
solent Jasper.  Jasper's  beautiful  Christmas- 
candle  was  cracked  in  twenty  pieces  by  his 
fall 

'^  I'll  teach  you  better  manners,  young 
peasant ! "  cried  he,  rushing  upon  Cristobal 
in  a  frenzy,  and  dealing  fierce  blows  without 
mercy  or  reason. 

It  was  then  that  Cristobal's  eyes  went  out 
like  falling  stars.  Their  lustre  and  beauty 
remained ;  but  they  were  empty  caskets, 
their  vision  gone. 


22  FAIRY  BOOK. 

Then  followed  terrible  anguish ;  and  all 
Cristobal's  mother  could  do  was  to  hold  her 
boy  in  her  arms,  and  soothe  him  by  singing. 
At  last  the  fever  was  spent ;  but  the  pain 
still  throbbed  on,  and  sometimes  seemed  to 
burn  into  Cristobal's  brain.  He  cried  out 
again  and  again,  ^^  "What  right  had  that 
fierce  Jasper  to  spring  upon  me  so  ?  I  meant 
him  no  harm ;  and  he  knew  it.  Oh,  I  would 
like  to  see  him  chained  in  a  den  !  He  is  like 
the  wicked  people  who  are  turned  into 
wolves  at  Christmas-tide.  I  would  cry  for 
joy  if  I  could  hear  him  groan  with  such  pain 
as  mine  !  "  . 

Poor  Cristobal  never  hoped  to  see  again. 
He  carried  in  his  mind  pictures  of  cities  and 
hamlets,  of  trees,  flowers,  -and  old  familiar 
faces ;  but  oftenest  came  Jasper's  face,  just 
as  it  had  last  glared  on  him  with  blood-thirsty 
eyes.     It  was  a  terrible  countenance.     Only 


CRISTOBAL.  23 

one  charm  conld  dispel  the  horror,  —  the 
remembrance  of  the  beautiful  Child  in  the 
church.  That  picture  blotted  out  every 
thing  else.  It  was  like  the  refrain  in  the 
Burgundy  carols,  "  Noel,  Noel,"  which  comes 
again  and  again,  and  never  tires  of  coming. 

A  whole  year  passed  away.  Cristobal's 
mother  only  prayed  now  that  her  boy  might 
suffer  less:  she  had  ceased  to  pray  for  the 
healing  of  his  blindness. 

Now  it  was  Christmjas  -  tide  again.  Ever 
since  Advent,  people  had  been  clearing  their 
throats,  and  singing  carols.  They  roasted 
chestnuts,  drank  white  wine,  and  chanted 
praises  of  the  ''  Little  Jesus,"  who  was  soon 
to  come,  bringing  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to 
men. 

In  the  streets,  one  heard  bagpipes  and  min- 
strels ;  and,  by  the  hearthstones,  the  music  of 
the  wandering  piper.     The  children  began  to 


24  FAIRY   BOOK. 

talk  again  of  the  Yule-log,  and  to  wonder 
wliat  gifts  Noel  would  bring  to  place  under 
each  end  of  it ;  for  these  little  folks,  Avho  have 
no  stocking  -  saint  like  our  Santa  Claus,  be- 
lieve in  another  quite  as  good,  Avho  rains 
down  sugar -plums  in  the  night. 

Everywhere  there  was  a  joyful  bustle. 
Housewives  were  making  ready  their  choi- 
cest dishes  for  the  great  Christmas  -  supper ; 
fathers  were  slyly  peeping  into  shop  -  win- 
dows, and  children  hoarding  their  sous  and 
centimes  for  bonbons  and  comfits. 

Everybody  was  merry  but  Cristobal ;  or 
so  thought  the  lad.  He  had  no  money  to 
spend,  and  little  but  pain  for  his  holiday- 
cheer.  A  patch  here  and  there  in  his  worn 
clothes  was  the  best  present  his  thrifty  moth- 
er was  able  to  make ;  always  excepting  the 
little  variegated  taper,  Avhich  few  were  too 
poor  to  buy. 


CRISTOBAL.  25 

Christmas  Eve  came.  Family  friends 
dropped  in.  The  Yule-log  was  set  on  the  fire 
with  shouts  and  singing.  ^^  Oh  that  I  could 
see  these  kind  faces ! "  moaned  Cristobal. 
''  Xo  doubt,  Jasper's  chestnuts  are  popping 
merrily ;  and  his  shoes  will  be  full  of  pres- 
ents. And  here  am  1 1  My  head  aches,  and 
my  eye-balls  burn." 

He  stole  out  of  the  room,  and,  throwing 
himself  on  a  wicker  bench,  mused  over  his 
troubles  in  solitude.  One  might  have  sup- 
posed him  sleeping ;  for  how  should  one  im- 
agine that  his  beautiful  eyes  were  of  no 
manner  of  use,  except  when  they  were 
closed?  When  Cristobal  said,  ''Let  me  see," 
he  dropped  his  eye-lids  ;  and  what  he  saw 
then,  no  artist  can  paint. 
•  On  this  night,  a  beautiful  child  appeared 
before  him,  as  like  the  picture  of  the  Little 
Jesus  as  if  it  had  stepped  out  of  its  frame  on 


26  FAIRY  BOOK, 

the  cimrcli-wall.  Even  tlie  crimson  and  blue 
tints  of  the  old  painting  were  faithfully  pre- 
served; and  every  fold  of  the  soft  drapery 
was  the  very  same. 

"  I  saw  you,  Cristobal,  when  you  came  be- 
fore me  with  your  colored  candle,  one  year 
ago." 

^^I  knew  it,  I  knew  it!"  cried  Cristobal, 
clasping  his  hands  in  awe.  ''  I  saw  your 
eyes  follow  me  ;  and  I  never  once  turned  but 
you  were  looking.  They  told  me  it  was  only 
a  picture  ;  but  I  said  for  that  very  reason 
your  eyes  were  sorrowful, —  you  longed  to 
be  alive." 

The  child  replied  by  a  slight  motion  of  the 
head ;  and  the  aureola  trembled  like  sunlight 
on  the  water.  The  longer  Cristobal  gazed, 
the  more  courage  he  gathered.  ^^Lovel^i^ 
vision,"  said  he,  ^^  if  vision  you  may  be,  —  I 
have  said  to  myself,  I  would  gladly  walk  to 


CRISTOBAL.  27 

Eome  witti  peas  in  my  shoes,  if  I  could  know 
what  you  wished  to  say  to  me  that  Christmas 
night." 

"  Only  this,  little  brother :  Are  you  ready 
for  Christmas?" 

"Alas  !  no  :  I  never  am.  I  have  only  two 
sous  in  the  world." 

''  Poor  Cristobal !  Yet,  without  a  centime, 
one  may  be  ready  for  Christmas." 

"  But  I  am  so  very  unhappy  !  " 

"  You  do  indeed  look  sad,  little  brother : 
where  is  your  pain  ?  " 

''In  my  eyes,"  moaned  the  boy,  pouring  out 
the  words  with  a  delightful  sense  of  relief; 
for  he  was  sure  they  dropped  into  a  pitying 
heart.  ''  Beloved  little  Jesus,  let  me  tell  you 
that  since  I  saw  you  last  I  have  been  wick- 
edly injured.  Now  I  have  always  a  pain  in 
my  eyes :  there  are  two  flames  behind  them, 
which  burn  day  and  night." 


28  FAIRY  BOOK. 

I  grieve  for  you,"  said  the  Child  with  ex- 
quisite teDderness ;  '^  yet,  dear  boy,  for  all 
that,  you  might  ^be  ready  for  Christmas :  but 
is  there  not  also  a  pain  throbbing  and  burn- 
ing in  your  heart  ?  " 

''  Oh,  if  you  mean  that,  I  am  tossed  up  and 
down  by  vexation  :  I  am  full  of  hatred 
against  that  terrible  Jasper.  It  was  all  about 
a  miserable  Christmas-candle  he  carried.  I 
broke  it  by  pushing  him  down.  Tell  me, 
was  he  right  to  fly  at  me  like  a  wild  beast  ? 
Ought  he  not  to  suffer  even  as  I  have  suf- 
fered ?  Is  it  just,  is  it  right,  for  the  great 
man's  son  to  put  out  a  peasant  boy's  eyes, 
and  be-  happy  again  ?  " 

"  Misguided  Jasper  ! "  said  the  Child  sol- 
emnly ;  'Met  him  answer  for  his  own  sin : 
judge  not;  little  brother." 

Cristobal  hid  hig  face  in  his  hands,  and 
wept  for  shame. 


CRISTOBAL.  29 

"  Shall  I  give  you  ten  golden  words  for  a 
Christmas-gift  ?  Will  you  hide  them  in  your 
heart,  and  be  happy  ?  " 

"  I  will,"  answered  Cristobal. 

"They  are  these/'  said  the  Child  with  a 
voice  of  wondrous  sweetness :  "  Pray  for 
them  which  despitefully  use  you  and  perse- 
cute you." 

Cristobal  repeated  the  words,  a  soft  light 
stealing  over  his  face.  "  I  will  remember," 
he  said,  looking  up  to  meet  the  pleading  eyes 
of  the  Child :  but,  lo !  the  whole  face  had 
melted  into  the  aureola ;  nothing  was  left  but 
light.  Yet  Cristobal  was  filled  with  a  new 
joy  ;  and,  as  he  opened  his  eyes,  his  dream  — 
if  dream  it  were  —  changed,  becoming  as 
sweet  and  solemn  as  a  prayer.  It  seemed  to 
him  that  the  roof  of  the  cottage  glittered 
with  stars,  and  was  no  longer  a  roof,  but  the 
boundless   sky ;    and,   afar   off,  like    remem- 


30  FAIEY  BOOK. 

bered  music,  a  voice  fell  on  his  ear,  '^  For  if 
ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  heav-. 
enly  Father  will  also  forgive  you  your  tres- 
passes." 

Cristobal  arose,  and,  although  still  blind, 
walked  in  light.  ^' It  is  the  aureola  which 
has  stolen  into  my  heart,"  thought  Cristobal. 
^'  The  pain  and  hate  are  all  gone.  Now  I  am 
ready  for  Christmas.  I  wish  I  could  help 
poor  Jasper,  who  has  such  a  weight  of  guilt 
to  carry ! " 

Next  day, ''  golden-sided  "  Burgundy  saw 
no  happier  boy  than  Cristobal.  He  walked 
in  the  procession  that  night,  carrying  a  can- 
dle whose  light  he  could  not  see ;  but  what 
did  it  signify,  since  there  was  light  in  his 
soul?" 

Hark  I  In  the  midst  of  the  Christmas- 
chimes  breaks  the  jangling  of  fire-bells.  The 
count's  house  is  on  fire !     The  sparks  pour 


CRISTOBAL.  31 

out  thicker  and  faster ;  tongues  of  flame  leap 
to  the  sky ;  the.  bells  clang  hoarsely ;  the 
Christmas  procession  is  broken  'into  wild  dis- 
order ;  the  wheels  of  the  engine  roll  through 
the  streets,  unheard  in  the  din. 

Cristobal  rushed  eagerly  toward  the  flames, 
but  was  pulled  away  by  the  people. 

'^  We  cannot  drown  the  fire  ! "  they  cried : 
"  the  building  must  fall !  Are  the  inmates 
aUsafe?" 

*^  All,  thank  Heaven ! "  cried  the  count. 

"  No :  Jasjper !  See,  he  waves  his  hand 
from  the  third  story !  Save  him !  save  my 
boy ! " 

Jasper  had  set  fire  to  a  curtain  with  his  fa- 
tal Christmas  -  candle.  Now  he  raved  and 
shouted  in  vain:  no  one  would  venture  up 
the  ladder.  ^ 

*'  0  Little  Jesus,"  whispered  Cristobal, 
"  give  light  to  my  eyes,  even  as  unto  my 
soul !    Let  me  save  Jasper !  '^ 


32  FAIRY   BOOK. 

At  once  tlie  iron  band  fell  from  Cristobal's 
vision.  He  saw,  and,  at  tlie  same  moment, 
felt  a  supernatural  strength.  He  tore  away 
from  the  restraining  arms  of  the  people ;  he 
rushed  up  the  ladder,  shouting,  '^  In  the 
name  of  the  Little  Jesus  ! "  He  reached  the 
window,  heedless  of  his  scorched  arms. 
"Jasper  !"  he  cried,  seizing  the  half-conscious 
boy,  "  be  not  afraid :  I  have  the  strength  to 
carry  you." 

And  down  the  ladder  he  bore  him,  step  by 
step,  through  the  crackling  flames. 

Jasper  was  revived  ;  and  the  fainting  Cris- 
tobal was  borne  through  the  streets  in  the 
arms  of  the  populace. 

"  Wonder  of  wonders  !  "  they  all  shouted. 

"  It  was  the  Little  Jesus,"  gasped  Cristo- 
bal: 'Mic  opened  my  eyes;  he  guided  me 
up  the  ladder,  and  down  again ! " 

** Hallelujah  1  "  was  now  the  cry.    "On  the 


CEISTOBAL.  33 

birthday  of  our  Lord,  the  Wind  receive  their 
sight." 

^'Jt  is  a  triumph  of  faith,"  said  the  saints 
reverently.* 

^*  A  miracle/'  murmured  the  nuns,  making 
the  sign  of  the  cross. 

''  Not  a  miracle/'  replied  the  wise  doctors, 
after  they  had  first  consulted  their  books : 
"  it  is  only  the  electrifying  of  the  optic 
nerve." 

But  hardly  any  two  could  agree  ;  and  what 
was  so  mysterious  at  the  time  is  no  clearer 
now. 

"  Dear  little  Cristobal,"  sobbed  the  broken- 
hearted Jasper,  ''  how  could  you  forgive 
such  a  wicked  boy  as  I  ?  " 

'^  It  was  very  easy, "  replied  Cristobal, 
''  when  once  the  Little  Jesus  called  me 
*  brother,'  and  bade  me  pray  for  you." 

"  Oh  that  I  could  repay  you  for  your  won- 

2 


34  FAIRY   BOOK. 

derful  deed  of  love/'  said  Jasper,  through 
his  tears. 

'^  Do  not  thank  me,"  whispered  Cristobal, 
with  a  look  of  awe  ;  '^  thank  the  Little  Jesus. 
And  when  he  comes  again  next  year,  to  ask 
what  feelings  we  hold  in  our  hearts,  let  us 
both  be  ready  for  Christmas.'* 


WILD    ROBIN.  35 


WILD    ROBIN. 

A   SCOTTISH    FAIRY   TALE. 

In  the  green  valley  of  the  Yarrow,  near 
the  castle-keep  of  Norham,  dwelt  an  honest, 
sonsy  little  family,  whose  only  grief  was  an 
unhappy  son,  named  Hobin. 

Janet,  Avith  jimp  form,  bonnie  eyes,  and 
cherry  cheeks,  was  the  best  of  daughters  : 
the  boys,  Sandie  and  Davie,  were  swift-footed, 
brave,  kind,  and  obedient ;  but  Eobin,  the 
youngest,  had  a  stormy  temper,  and,  when 
his  will  was  crossed,  he  became  as  reckless 
as  a  reeling  hurricane.  Once,  in  a  passion, 
he  drove  two  of  his  father's  ''  kye,"  or  cattle, 
down  a  steep  hill  to  their  death.  He  seemed 
not  to  care  for  home  or  kindred,  and  often 
pierced  the  tender  heart  of  his  mother  with 


36  FAIRY   BOOK. 

sharp  words.  "When  she  came  at  night,  and 
"  happed  "  the  bed-clothes  carefully  about  his 
form,  and  then  stooped  to  kiss  his  nut-brown 
cheeks,  he  turned  away  with  a  frown,  mutter- 
ing, '^  Mither,  let  me  be.*' 

It  was  a  sad  case  with  Wild  Robin,  who 
seemed  to  have  neither  love  nor  conscience. 

''  My  heart  is  sair, ''  sighed  his  mother, 
*'  wi'  greeting  over  sicli  a  son." 

'^  He  hates  our  auld  cottage  and  our  muckle 
wark,''  said  the  poor  father.  '^  Ah,  weel !  I 
could  a'maist  wish  the  fairies  had  him  for  a 
season,  to  teach  him  better  manners."' 

This  the  gudeman  said  heedlessly,  little 
knowing  there  was  any  danger  of  Robin's 
being  carried  away  to  Elf-land.  Whether  the 
fairies  were  at  that  instant  listening  under 
the  eaves,  will  never  be  known ;  but  it 
chanced,  one  day,  that  Wild  Robin  was  sent 
across  the  moors  to  fetch  the  kye. 


WILD   EOBIN.  37 

''  I'll  rin  away,"  thought  the  boy :  '^  'tis 
hard  indeed  if  ilka  day  a  great  lad  like  me 
must  mind  the  kye.  I'll  gae  aff ;  and  they'll 
think  me  dead." 

So  he  gaed,  and  he  gaed,  over  round  swell- 
ing hills,  over  old  battle-fields,  past  the  roof- 
less ruins  of  houses  whose  walls  were 
crowned  with  tall  climbing  grasses,  till  he 
came  to  a  crystal  sheet  of  water,  called  St, 
Mary's  Loch.  Here  he  paused  to  take 
breath.  The  sky  was  dull  and  lowering  ;  but 
at  his  feet  were  yellow  flowers,  which  shone, 
on  that  gray  day,  like  freaks  of  sunshine. 

He  threw  himself  wearily  upon  the  grass, 
not  heeding  that  he  had  chosen  his  couch  with- 
in a  little  mossy  circle  known  as  a  '^  fairy's 
ring."  Wild  Robin  knew  that  the  country 
people  would  say  the  fays  had  pressed  that 
green  circle  with  their  light  feet.  He  had 
heard  all  the  Scottish  lore  of  brownies,  elves. 


38  FAIRY  BOOK. 

will-o'-the-wisps,  and  the  strange  water-kel- 
pies, who  shriek  with  eldritch  laughter.  He 
had  been  told  that  the  queen  of  the  fairies 
had  coveted  him  from  his  birth,  and  would 
have  stolen  him  away,  only  that,  just  as  she 
was  about  to  seize  him  from  the  cradle,  he 
had  sneezed ;  and  from  that  instant  the  fairy- 
spell  was  over,  and  she  had  no  more  control 
of  him. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  all  these  stories,  the.  boy 
was  not  afraid  ;  and  if  he  had  been  informed 
that  any  of  the  uncanny  people  were,  even 
now,  haunting  his  footsteps,  he  would  "not 
have  believed  it. 

^'  I  see,"  said  Wild  Eobin,  ^^  the  sun  is 
drawing  his  night-cap  over  his  eyes,  and 
dropping  asleep.  I  believe  I'll  e'en  take  a 
nap  mysel',  and  see  what  comes  o'  it." 

In  two  minutes  he  had  forgotten  St.  Mary's 
Loch,  the  hills,  the  moors,  the  yellow  flowers. 


WILD    EOBIN.  39 

He  heard,  or  fancied  he  heard,  his  sister 
Janet  calling  him  home. 

"  And  what  have  ye  for  supper  ?  "  he  mut- 
tered between  his  teeth. 

'^  Parritch  and  milk/'  answered  the  lassie 
gently. 

"  Parritch  and  milk  !  Whist !  say  nae  mair  ! 
Lang,  lang  may  ye  wait  for  Wild  Robin: 
he'll  not  gae  back  for  oatmeal  parritch  ! " 

Next  a  sad  voice  fell  on  his  ear. 

"  Mither's  ;  and  she  mourns  me  dead ! " 
thought  he  ;  but  it  was  only  the  far-oiOf  vil- 
lage-bell, which  sounded  like  the  echo  of 
music  he  had  heard  lang  syne,  but  might 
never  hear  again. 

''Wye  think  I'm  not  alive?"  tolled  the 
bell.  "I  sit  all  day  in  my  little  wooden  tem- 
ple, brooding  over  the  sins  of  the  parish." 

''  A  brazen  lie  !  "  cried   Robin. 

'^  Nay,   the   truth,   as   I'm   a   living    soul ! 


40  FAIRY   BOOK. 

Wae  worth  ye,  Robin  Telfer :  ye  think  yer- 
sel'  hardly  used.  Say,  have  your  brithers 
softer  beds  than  yours?  Is  your  ain  father 
served  with  larger  j)otatoes  or  creamier  but- 
termilk? Whose  mither  sae  kind  as  yours, 
ungrateful  chiel  ?  Gae  to  Elf-land,  Wild  Eob- 
in ;  and  dool  and  wae  follow  ye  !  dool  and 
wae  follow  ye  ! " 

The  round  yellow  sun  had  dropped  behind 
the  hills ;  the  evening  breezes  began  to  blow ; 
and  now  could  be  heard  the  faint  trampling 
of  small  hoofs,  and  the  tinkling  of  tiny  bridle- 
bells  :  the  fairies  were  trooping  over  the 
ground.     First  of 'all  rode  the  queen. 

"  Her  skirt  was  of  tlie  grass-green  silk, 
Her  mantle  of  the  velvet  fine ; 
At  ilka  tress  of  her  horse's  mane 
Hung  fifty  silver  bells  and  nine." 

But  Wild  Robin's  closed  eyes  saw  nothing; 


WILD    ROBIN.  41 

his  sleep-sealed  ears  heard  nothing.  The 
queen  of  faries  dismounted,  stole  up  to  him, 
and  laid  her  soft  fingers  on  his  cheeks. 

''  Here  is  a  little  man  alter  my  ain  heart/^ 
said  she :  "  I  like  his  knitted  brow,  and  the 
downward  curve  of  his  lips.  Knights,  lift 
him  gently,  set  him  on  a  red-roan  steed,  and 
waft  him  away  to  Fairy-land.'' 

Wild  Robin  was  lifted  as  gently  as  a  brown 
leaf  borne  by  the  wind  ;  he  rode  as  softly  as 
if  the  red-roan  steed  had  been  saddled  with 
satin,  and  shod  with  velvet.  It  even  may  be 
that  the  fliint  tinkling  of  the  bridle-bells 
lulled  him  into  a  deeper  slumber;  for  when 
he  awoke  it  was  morning  in  Fairy-land. 

Robin  sprang  from  his  mossy  conch,  and 
stared  about  him.  "Where  was  he  ?  He 
rubbed  his  eyes,  and  looked  again.  Dream- 
ing, no  doubt ;  but  what  meant  all  these  nim- 
ble little  beings  bustling  hither  and  thither 


42  FAIRY  BOOK. 

in  hot  haste  ?  "What  meant  these  pearl-be- 
decked caves,  scarcely  larger  than  swallows' 
nests  ?  these  green  canopies,  overgrown  with 
moss  ?  He  pinched  himself,  and  gazed  again. 
Countless  flowers  nodded  to  him,  and 
seemed,  like  himself,  on  tiptoe  with  curiosity, 
he  thought.  He  beckoned  one  of  the  busy, 
dwarfish  little  brownies  toward  him. 

"  I  ken  I'm  talking  in  my  sleep,"  said  the 
lad ;  '^  but  can  ye  tell  me  what  dell  is  this, 
and  how  I  chanced  to  be  in  it?" 

The  brownie  might  or  might  not  have 
heard ;  but,  at  any  rate,  he  deigned  no  reply, 
and  went  on  with  his  task,  which  was  pound- 
ing seeds  in  a  stone  mortar. 

"Am  I  Robin  Telfer,  of  the  Yalley  of 
Yarrow,  and  yet  canna  shake  aff  my  silly 
dreams?" 

"  Weel,  my  lad,"  quoth  the  queen  of  the 
fairies,  giving  him  a  smart  tap  with  her  wand, 


WILD    ROBIN.  43 

''  stir  yerseP,  and  be  at  work ;  for  naebody 
idles  in  Elf-land.^' 

Bewildered  Robin  ventured  a  look  at  the 
little  queen.  By  daylight  she  seemed  some- 
what sleepy  and  tired ;  and  was  withal  so 
tiny,  that  he  might  almost  have  taken  her  be- 
tween his  thumb  and  finger,  and  twirled  her 
above  his  head;  yet  she  poised  herself  be- 
fore him  on  a  mullein-stalk,  and  looked  every 
inch  a  queen.  Robin  found  her  gaze  op- 
pressive ;  for  her  eyes  were  hard  and  cold 
and  gray,  as  if  they  had  been  little  orbs  of 
granite. 

"  Get  ye  to  work,  Wild  Robin  !  " 

"  What  to  do  ?  "  meekly  asked  the  ^  boy, 
hungrily  glancing  at  a  few  kernels  of  rye 
which  had  rolled  out  of  one  of  the  brownie's 
mortars. 

"  Are  ye  hungry,  my  laddie  ? "  touch  a 
grain  of   rye   if  ye   dare  !     Shell  these  dry 


44  FAIRY   BOOK. 

bains ;  and  if  so  be  ye're  starving,  eat  as 
many  as  ye  can  boil  in  an  acorn-cup." 

With  these  Avords  she  gave  the  boy  a  with- 
ered bean-pod,  and,  summoning  a  meek  httle 
brownie,  bade  him  see  that  the  lad  did  not 
over-fill  the  acorn-cup,  and  that  he  did  not  so 
much  as.  peck  at  a  grain  of  rye.  Then, 
glancing  sternly  at  her  unhappy  prisoner,  she 
withdreAv,  sweeping  after  her  the  long  train 
of  her  green  robe. 

The  dull  days  crept  by,  and  still  there 
seemed  no  hope  that  Wild  Robin  would  ever 
escape  from  his  beautiful  but  detested  prison. 
He  had  no  wings,  poor  laddie ;  and  he  could 
neither  become  invisible  nor  draw  himself 
through  a  keyhole  bodily. 

It  is  true,  he  had  mortal  companions : 
many  chubby  babies ;  many  bright-eyed 
boys  and  girls,  wdiose  distracted  parents 
were  still  seeking  them,  far  and  wide,  upon 


WILD    ROBIN.  45 

the  earth.  It  would  almost  seem  that  the 
wonders  of  Fairy-land  might  make  the  little 
prisoners  happy.  There  were  countless  treas- 
ures to  be  had  for  the  taking,  and  the  very 
dust  in  the  little  streets  was  precious  with 
specks  of  gold:  but  the  poor  children  shiv- 
ered for  the  want  of  a  mother's  love  ;  they 
all  pined  for  the  dear  home-people.  If  a  cer- 
tain task  seemed  to  them  particularly  irk- 
some, the  heartless  queen  was  sure  to  find  it 
out,  and  oblige  them  to  perform  it,  day  after 
day.  If  they  disliked  any  article  of  food, 
that,  and  no  other,  were  they  forced  to  eat, 
or  starve. 

"Wild  Robin,  loathing  his  withered  beans 
and  unsalted  broths,  longed  intensely  for  one 
little  breath  of  fragrant  steam  from  the  tooth- 
some parritch  on  his  father's  table,  one  glance 
at  a  roasted  potato.  He  was  homesick  for 
the    gentle    sister    he    had    neglected,    the 


46  FAIRY   BOOK. 

rough  brothers  whose  cheeks  he  had  pelted 
black  and  blue  ;  and  yearned  for  the  very 
chinks  in  the  walls,  thd  very  thatch  on  the 
home-roof. 

Gladly  would  he  have  given  every  fairy- 
flower,  at  the  root  of  which  clung  a  lump  of 
gold  ore,  if  he  might  have  had  his  own  cov- 
erlet "  happed  "  about  him  once  more  by  the 
gentle  hands  he  had  despised. 

"  Mither,"  he  whispered  in  his  dreams, 
"  my  shoon  are  worn,  and  my  feet  bleed  ;  but 
I'll  soon  creep  hame,  if  I  can.  Keep  the 
parritch  warm  for  me." 

Robin  was  as  strong  as  a  mountain-goat ; 
and  his  strength  was  jout  to  the  task  of  thresh- 
ing rye,  grinding  oats  and  corn,  or  drawing 
water  from  a  brook. 

Every  night,  troops  of  gay  fairies  and  plod- 
ding brownies  stole  off  on  a  visit  to  the  up- 
per world,  leaving  Robin  and  his  companions 


WILD    ROBIN.  47 


in   ever    deeper   despair.     Poor    Kobin !    he 
was  fain  to  sing,  — 


"  Oh  that  my  father  had  ne'er  on  me  smiled ! 
Oh  that  my  mother  had  ne'er  to  me  sung  ! 
Oh  that  my  cradle  had  never  been  rocked, 
But  that  I  had  died  -when  I  was  young  !  " 

Now,  there  was  one  good-natured  brownie 
who  pitied  Robin.  When  he  took  a  journey 
to  earth  with  his  fellow-brownies,  he  often 
threshed  rye  for  the  laddie's  father,  or 
churned  butter  in  his  good  mother's  dairy, 
unseen  and  unsuspected.  If  the  little  crea- 
ture had  been  watched,  and  paid  for  these 
good  offices,  he  would  have  left  the  farm- 
house forever  in  sore  displeasure. 

To  homesick  Eobin  he  brought  news  of 
the  family  who  mourned  him  as  dead.  He 
stole  a  silky  tress  of  Janet's  fair  hair,  and 
wondered  to  see  the  boy  weep  over  it ;  for 


48  FAIRY    BOOK. 

brotherly  affection  is  a  sentiment  which 
never  vet  penetrated  the  heart  of  a  brownie. 
The  dull  little  sprite  would  gladly  have 
helped  the  poor  lad  to  his  freedom,  but  told 
him  that  only  on  one  night  of  the  year  was 
there  the  least  hope,  and  that  was  on  Hal- 
low-e'en, when  the  whole  nation  of  fairies 
ride  in  procession  through  the  streets  of 
earth. 

So  Robin  was  instructed  to  spin  a  dream, 
which  the  kind  brownie  would  hum  in 
Janet's  ear  while  she  slept.  By  this  means 
the  lassie  would  not  only  learn  that  her 
brother  was  in  the  power  of  the  elves,  but 
would  also  learn  how  to  release  him. 

Accordingly,  the  night  before  Hallow- 
e'en, the  bonnie  Janet  dreamed  that  the  long- 
lost  Robin  was  living  in  Elf-land,  and  that  he 
was  to  pass  through  the  streets  with  a  caval- 
cade of  fairies.     But,  alas  !  how  should  even 


WILD    ROBIN.  49 

a  sister  know  him  in  the  dim  starhght,  among 
the  passing  troops  of  elfish  and  mortal  ri- 
ders ?  The  dream  assured  her  that  she 
might  let  the  first  company  go  hy,  and  the 
second;  but  Robin  would  be  one  of  the 
third :  — 

"  First  let  pass  the  black,  Janet, 
And  syne  let  pass  the  brown ; 
But  grip  ye  to  the  milk-white  steed, 
And  pull  the  rider  down. 

For  /  ride  on  the  milk-white  steed, 

And  aye  nearest  the  town  : 
Because  I  was  a  christened  lad 

They  gave  me  that  renown. 

My  right  hand  will  be  gloved,  Janet ; 

My  left  hand  will  be  bare  ; 
And  these  the  tokens  I  give  thee : 

No  doubt  I  will  be  there. 


50  ■     FAIRY  BOOK. 

Thejll  shape  me  in  your  arms,  Janet, 

A  toad,  snake,  and  an  eel 
But  hold  me  fast,  nor  let  me  gang, 

As  you  do  love  me  weel. 

They'll  shape  me  in  your  arms,  Janet, 

A  dove,  bat,  and  a  swan  : 
Cast  your  green  mantle  over  me, 

I'U  be  myself  again." 

The  good  sister  Janet,  far  from  remember- 
ing any  of  the  old  sins  of  her  brother,  wept 
for  joy  to  know  that  he  was  yet  among  the  liy- 
ing.  She  told  no  one  of  her  strange  dream ; 
but  hastened  secretly  to  the  Miles  Cross,  saw 
the  strange  cayalcade  pricking  through  the 
greenwood,  and  pulled  down  the  rider  on  the 
milk-white  steed,  holding  him  fast  through  all 
his  changing  shapes.  But  when  she  had 
thrown  her  green  mantle  oyer  him,  and 
clasped  him  in  her  arms  as  her  own  brother 


WILD   ROBIN.  51 

Robin,  the   angry  voice   of  the  fairy  queen 
was  heard :  — 

'  Up  then  spake  the  queen  of  fairies, 

Out  of  a  bush  of  rye, 
'  You've  taken  away  the  bonniest  lad 

In  all  my  companie. 

*  Had  I  but  had  the  wit,  yestreen, 

That  I  have  learned  to-day, 
I'd  pinned  the  sister  to  her  bed 
E're  he'd  been  won  away ! ' " 

However,  it  was  too  late  now.  Wild  Robin 
was  safe,  and  the  elves  had  lost  their  power 
over  him  forever.  His  forgiving  parents 
and  his  leal-hearted  brothers  welcomed  him 
home  with  more  than  the  old  love. 

So  grateful  and  happy  was  the  poor  laddie, 
that  he  nevermore  grumbled  at  his  oat-meal 
parritch,  or  minded  his  kye  with  a  scowling 
brow. 


52  FAIEY  BOOK. 

But  to  the  end  of  his  days,  when  he  heard 
mention  of  fairies  and  brownies,  his  mind 
wandered  off  in  a  mizmaze.  He  died  in 
peace,  and  was  buried  on  the  banks  of  the 
Yarrow. 


THE    VESPER    STAR.  53 


THE  VESPER   STAR. 

OxcE  upon  a  time,  the  new  moon  was  shin- 
ing like  a  silver  bow  in  the  heavens,  and  the 
stars  glittered  and  trembled  as  if  they  were 
afraid. 

'^What  frightens  you?"  said  the  placid 
Moon ;  "  be  calm,  like  me.'' 

''  I  am  freezing,"  answered  the  North  Star ; 
^^  that  is  why  I  shake." 

'^  We  are  dancing,"  said  the  Seven  Sisters ; 
"  and,  watch  as  closely  as  you  please,  you  can 
never  get  a  fair  peep  at  our  golden  sandals, 
our  feet  twinkle  so." 

''  I  am  sleepy,"  grumbled  the  Great  Bear  ; 
'^  I  am  trying  to  keep  my  eyes  open.  Per- 
haps that  is  the  reason  I  wink  so  much." 


54  FAIRY  BOOK. 

Thus,  with  one  accord,  they  made  excuses 
to  the  pale  Moon,  who  is  their  guardian, — 
all  but  the  sweet  Vesper  Star:  she  was  si- 
lent ;  and  when  a  white  cloud  floated  by,  she 
was  glad  of  an  excuse  to  hide  her  face. 

"  Let  the  North  Star  shiver,  and  the  Seven 
Sisters  dance,  and  all  the  golden  stars  hold  a 
revel,''  thought  she  ;  ^'  as  for  me,  I  am  sad." 

For  you  must  know  that  the  Yesper  Star 
has  a  task  to  perform,  and  is  not  allowed  to 
sleep.  She  keeps  vigil  over  the  Earth,  by 
night;  and  never  ceases  her  watch  till  the 
world  is  up  in  the  morning.  For  the  sick 
and  sad,  who  cannot  sleep,  she  feels  an  un- 
utterable pity,  so  that  her  heart  is  always 
throbbing  with  sorrow. 

The  Moon  looked  at  the  Yesper  Star,  and 
said,  ''  Dream  on,  sweet  sister ;  for  you,  the 
noblest  of  all,  have  told  me  no  falsehood." 

This  the  Moon  said  because  she  knew  that 


THE   VESPER    STAR.  55 

none  of  the  stars  had  given  a  true  reason  for 
twinkling  so  gayly  that  night.  The  truth  was, 
they  were  filled  with  envy,  and  were  trying 
to  be  as  brilliant  as  possible,  to  compete  with 
a  flaming  Comet  which  had  just  appeared  in 
the  sky. 

It  is  not  for  man  to  know  how  long  and 
how' peacefully  the  gentle  stars  had  travelled 
together,  doing  the  work  which  God  has  ap- 
pointed, without  a  murmur.  But  now  that 
this  distinguished  stranger  had  arrived,  the 
whole  firmament  was  in  dismay.  How 
proudly  he  strode  the  heavens !  how  his 
blaze  illumined  the  sky  !  The  Stars  whis- 
pered one  to  another,  and  cast  angry  eyes  on 
the  shining  wonder. 

''  Make  way  for  me,"  he  said,  sweeping 
after  him  a  glorious  train  of  light. 

*'  Not  I,''  muttered  the  fiery  Mars. 

*'  Not  1,'^  quoth  the  majestic  Jupiter ;  "  I 
do  not  move  an  inch." 


56  FAIRY  BOOK. 

The  Comet  flashed  with  a  lofty  disdain. 

"  Puny  Stars/'  said  he,  ^^  keep  your  places, 
give  out  all  your  light,  —  nobody  heeds  you ; 
the  place  of  honor  is  always  by  the  Vesper 
Star ;  here  I  make  my  throne." 

The  Yesper  Star  smiled  sadly,  but  without 
a  tT^dnge  of  envy. 

"  Welcome,  shinins^  one  !  Warm  me  with 
3^our  fires ;  let  us  work  together." 

"  Work ! "  cried  the  Comet,  throwing  out 
sparkles  of  scorn;  ''I  was  not  born  to  work, 
but  to  sliine  ! " 

"  Indeed  !  "  said  the  Yesper  Star  ;  "  you 
have  come  into  strange  company,  then;  for 
here  we  all  work  with  a  good  will.''  ''He 
does  not  burn  vrith  the  true  fire,"  thought 
the  good  Star  ;  and  she  wrapped  herself 
about  with  a  soft  cloud,  and  said  no  more. 

'^  Oh  that  I  could  be  set  on  fire  like  the 
Comet  I"  thought  the  cold  North  Star.     '^  I 


THE    VESPER    STAR.  57 

would  gladly  burn  to  death  if  I  could  aston- 
ish the  world  with  my  blaze  ! '' 

^'  Let  us    die  ! "    said   the    Seven    Sisters ; 

^^ let  us  die  together;  we  have  ceased  to  be 

« 
noticed." 

'^  Ah,  hum  !  "  growled  the  Great  Bear ; 
*'  so  many  years  as  I  have  kept  watch  in  this 
sky ;  and  now  to  be  set  one  side  by  this  up- 
start of  a  foreigner !  I've  a  great  mind  to 
go  to  sleep  and  never  wake  up  ! "' 

''  Hush  !  "  whispered  the  Yesper  Star  gen- 
tly ;  ''do  your  duty,  and  trust  God  for  the 
rest." 

And  lo  !  that  very  night  there  was  an  end 
of  the  Comet's  splendor. 

"  Adieu,  my  dull  friends,"  said  he ;  ''  I  am 
tired  of  a  quiet  life  :  a  little  more,  and  I 
should  fade  out  entirely  !  " 

Then,  with  a  blaze  and  a  whiz,  and  a  dizzy 
wheel,  he  flashed  out  of  the  sky ;  and  no  one 


58  FAIRY  BOOK. 

knew  whither  he  went,  or  whence  he  came, 
any  more  than  the  path  of  the  quick  light- 
ning. 

The  stars  were  ashamed  of  their  envj;  and 
went  to  their  old  work  with  a  stronger  will 
and  a  steadier  purpose  :  but  to  the  Yesper 
Star  was  given  a  brighter  and  sweeter  light 
than  to  any  other,  because  she  had  done  her 
work  without  envy  and  without  repining. 


THE   WATER -KELPIE.  59 


THE  WATER-KELPIE. 

Once  there  lived  under  the  earth  a  race 
of  fairies  called  gnomes.  They  were  strange 
little  beings,  with  dull  eyes  and  harsh  voices  ; 
but  they  did  no  harm,  and  lived  in  peace. 

They  never  saw  the  sun  ;  but  they  had 
lamps  much  brighter  than  our  gaslight,  which 
burned  night  and  day,  year  after  year. 

They  had  music ;  but  it  was  the  tinkling 
of  silver  bells  and  golden  harps,  —  not  half 
so  sweet  as  the  singing  of  birds  and  the  bab- 
bling of  brooks. 

Flowers  they  had  none,  but  plenty  of 
gems, — ^Hhe  stars  of  earth."  There  were 
green  trees  in  the  kingdom :  but  the  leaves 


60  FAIRY   BOOK. 

were  hard  emeralds  ;  and  the  fruit,  apples  of 
gold  or  cherries  of  ruby ;  and  these  precious 
gems  the  gnomes  ground  to  powder,  and 
swallowed  with  much  satisfaction. 

They  heaped  up  piles  of  gold  and  diar 
monds  as  high  as  your  head ;  and  never  was 
there  a  gnome  so  poor  as  to  build  a  house  of 
any  thing  a  whit  coarser  than  jasper  or  onyx. 
You  would  have  beheved  yourself  dreaming, 
if  you  could  have  walked  through  the  streets 
of  their  cities.  They  were  paved  with  rosy 
almandine  and  snowy  alabaster ;.  and  the  pal- 
aces glittered  in  the  gay  lampHght  like  a 
million  stars. 

These  gnomes  led,  for  the  most  part, 
rather  dull  lives.  Like  their  cousins,  the 
water-sprites,  or  undines,  they  were  roguish 
and  shrewd,  but  had  no  higher  views  of  life 
than  our  katydids  and  crickets.  Indeed, 
they  hardly  cared  for  any  thing  but  frisking 


THE   WATER -KELPIE.  61 

about,  eating  and  sleeping.  But,  after  all, 
what  can  be  expected  of  creatures  without 
souls  ?  One  sees,  now  and  seen,  stupid  hu- 
man beings,  whose  eves  have  no  thoughts  in 
them,  and  whose  souls  seem  to  be  sound 
asleep.  Such  lumps  of  dulness  might  almost 
as  well  be  gnomes,  and  slip  into  the  earth 
and  have  done  with  it. 

These  underground  folk  had  a  great  hor- 
ror of  our  world.  They  knew  all  about  it ; 
for  one  of  them  had  peeped  out  and  taken  a 
bird's-eye  view.  He  went  up  very  bravely, 
but  hurried  back  with  such  strange  accounts, 
that  his  friends  considered  him  a  little  insane. 

'^  Listen  !"  said  the  gnome,  whose  name  was 
Clod.  '^^  The  earth  has  a  soft  carpet,  of  a  new 
kind  of  emerald ;  overhead  is  a  blue  roof, 
made  of  turquoise ;  but  I  am  told  that  there 
is  a  crack  in  it,  and  sometimes  water  comes 
pouring   down   in   torrents.     But   the  worst 


62  FAIRY  BOOK. 

plague   of  all  is  a  great   glaring  eyeball  of 
fire,  which    mortals    call   the    sun.'' 

When  Clod  told  his  stories  of  the  earth,  he 
always  ended  by  saying,  — 

^^  Believe  me,  it  is  bad  luck  to  have  the 
sun  shine  on  you.  It  nearly  put  my  eyes 
out  ;  and  I  have  had  the  headache  ever 
since." 

Now,  there  was  a  young  girl,  named  Mon- 
eta,  who  listened  very  eagerly  to  the  old 
gnome's  stories  of  the  earth,  and  thought  she 
would  like  to  see  it  for  herself.  She  was  a 
kind  little  maiden,  as  playful  as  a  kitten  ;  and 
her  friends  were  not  willing  she  should  go. 
But  Moneta  had  somewhere  heard  that 
fairies  Avho  marry  mortals  receive  the  gift 
of  a  human  soul :  so,  in  sjDite  of  all  objec- 
tions, she  was  resolved  to  take  the  journey ; 
for  she  had  in  her  dark  mind  some  vague  as- 
pirations after  a  higher  state  of  being. 


THE   WATER. KELPIE  63 

Then  the  gnome-family  declared,  that,  if 
she  once  went  away,  they  would  never  allow 
her  to  return;  for  they  highly  disapproved 
of  running  backward  and  forward  between 
the  two  worlds,  gossiping. 

''Have  you  no  love  of  country,"  cried 
they,  ''that  you  would  willingly  cast  your 
lot  among  silly  creatures  who  look  down 
upon  your  race  ?  " 

The  old  gnome,  who  had  travelled,  took  the 
romantic  maiden  one  side,  and  said,  — 

"  My  dear  Moneta,  since  you  ivill  go,  I 
must  tell  3^ou  a  secret ;  for  you  remember  I 
b^ve  seen  the  world,  and  know  all  about  it. 
Mortals  are  a  higher  race  than  ourselves,  it  is 
true  ;  but  that  is  only  because  they  live  atop 
o'  the  earth,  while  we  are  under  their  feet. 
They  make  a  great  parade  about  their  little 
ticking  jewel  they  call  Conscience  ;  but,  after 
all,  they  will  any  of  them   sell  it  for  one  of 


64  FAIRY  BOOK. 

our  ear-rings !  I  assure  5^ou  they  love  money 
better  than  their  own  souls ;  and  I  would  ad- 
vise you,  as  a  friend  that  has  seen  the  world, 
to  load  yourself  with  as  much  gold  as  you 
can  carry." 

So  Moneta  donned  a  heavy  dress  of  spun 
gold,  Avhich  was  woven  in  such  a  manner, 
that,  at  every  motion  she  made,  it  let  fall  a 
shower  of  gold-dust.  She  filled  the  sleeves 
with  sardonyx,  almandine,  and  amethyst ;  and 
hid  in  her  bosom  diamonds  and  sapphires 
enough  to  purchase  a  kingdom. 

Then  she  went  up  a  steep  ladder,  and 
knocked  on  the  alabaster  ceiling,  using  the 
charm  which  the  gnome  had  given  her :  — 

"Mother  Earth,  Mother  Earth,  set  me 
free ! " 

At  her  words  there  was  a  sound  as  of  an 
earthquake,  and  a  little  space  was  made,  just 
large    enough    for    her    to    crawd    through. 


THE   WATER -KELPIE.  65 

When  she  had  reached  the  top,  the  earth 
closed  again,  and  she  was  left  seated  upon  a 
*'ock;  and  the  hght  of  the  sun  was  so  daz- 
ding,  that  she  hid  her  face  in  her  hands. 

Thus  she  sat  for  a  long  time,  not  knowing 
tyhither  to  go,  till  a  young  man  chanced  to 
come  that  way,  who  said,  ^'  What  do  yon 
here  ?  " 

She  raised  her  face  at  his  words,  and  could 
not  speak,  so  great  was  her  surprise  at  the 
beauty  of  the  strange  youth.  He,  for  his 
part,  could  not  help  smiling;  for  she  was  as' 
yellow  as  an  orange ;  and  an  uglier  little 
creature  he  had  never  beheld :  but  he  said 
in  a  kind  voice, — 

"  Come  with  me  to  my  mother's  house,  and 
yon  shall  be  refreshed  with  cake  and  wine." 

She  arose  to  follow  him  ;  and,  as  she 
walked,  a  bright  shower  of  gold-dust  sprin- 
kled the  earth  at  every  step. 

5 


66  FAIRY   BOOK. 

The  young  man  held  out  his  hands  eagerly 
to  catch  the  shining  spray,  thinking  he  would 
like  such  a  rarely-gifted  damsel  for  his  wife; 
and,  in  truth,  he  smiled  so  sweetly,  and 
dropped  such  winning  words,  that  in  time  he 
won  her  heart  and  she  became  his  bride. 

"And,  when  slie  cam'  into  the  kirk, 

She  shimmered  like  the  sun  ; 

The  belt  that  was  about  her  waist 

Was  a'  with  pearles  bedone." 

So  great  was  her  love  for  him,  that  she 
forgot  her  lost  home  under  the  earth ;  and 
every  day,  when  she  bade  her  husband 
"good-morning,"  she  placed  in'  his  hand  a 
precious  stone  ;  and  he  kissed  her,  calling 
her  his  ^'  dear  Moneta^"  his  '^  heart's  jewel." 
But  at  last  the  diamonds,  sapphires,  and  ru- 
bies were  all  gone ;  and  she  was  also  losing 
the  power  of  shedding  gold-dust.     Then  her 


THE  WATER -KELPIE.  67 

husband  frowned  on  her,  and  no  longer  called 
her  his  ^'  heart's  jewel/'  or  his  '^  dear  Mo- 
neta." 

At  length  she  presented  him  with  a  little 
daughter  as  lovely  as  a  water-sprite,  with 
hair  like  threads  of  gold.  Now  the  father 
watched  the  babe  with  a  greedy  eye  ;  for  its 
mother  had  wept  precious  tears  of  molten 
gold  before  she  received  the  gift  of  human 
grief,  and  he  hoped  her  child  would  do 
the  same ;  but,  when  he  found  it  was  only  a 
common  mortal,  he  shut  his  heart  against  the 
babe.  Moneta  w^as  no  longer  yellow  and 
ugly,  but  very  beautiful ;  with  deep  eyes,  out 
of  which  looked  a  sweet  soul :  yet  she  had 
lost  her  fairy  gifts,  and  her  husband  had 
ceased  to  love  her.  The  good  w^oman 
mourned  in  secret;  and  would  have  wished 
to  die,  only  her  precious  child  comforted  her 
heart. 


68  FAIRY   BOOK. 

One  day,  as  she  was  sitting  by  the  shore 
of  the  lake,  a  water-kelpie  saw  her  weeping, 
and  came  to  her  in  the  form  of  a  white-haired 
old  man,  saying,  — 

^^  Charming  lady!  why  do  you  weep? 
Come  with  me  to  my  kingdom  under  the  wa- 
ters.    My  people  are  always  happy.'' 

Then  she  looked  where  he  bade  her,  and 
saw,  afar  down  under  the  waters,  a  beauti- 
ful city,  whose  streets  were  paved  with  red 
and  white  coral. 

The  kelpie  said,  ''  Will  you  go  down?  " 

'^  No,"  sighed  Moneta,  thinking  of  the  kind 
words  her  husband  had  sometimes  spoken  to 
her:  ''I  cannot  go  yet." 

But  the  kelpie  came  every  day,  repeating 
the  question,  ''Will  you  go  now?"  and  she 
answered,  ''I  cannot  go  yet." 

But  at  last  her  husband  said,  — 

"  How  often  the  thought  comes  to  me,    If 


THE  WATER -KELPIE.  69 

I  had  no  wife  and  child,  all  this  gold  would 
be  mine  ! "  and  he  knitted  his  brows  with  a 
frown. 

Then  Moneta  looked  in  his  face,  and 
said,  — 

''Dear  Ivan,  I  have  loved  you  truly ;  but 
you  no  longer  care  for  Moneta.  I  will  go 
away  with  the  little  child,  and  all  our  gold 
shall  be  yours.     Farewell  !  " 

Then  she  embraced  him  with  falling  tears. 
His  heart  was  stirred  within  him ;  and  he 
would  have  followed  her,  only  he  knew  not 
which  way  she  had  gone. 

Soon  the  water-kelpie  came  to  him  in  the 
form  of  a  horse ;  and  ran  before  him,  neigh- 
ing fiercely,  and  breathing  fire  from  his 
mouth.  This  is  the  way  kelpies  take  to  an- 
nounce the  fact  that  some  one  has  gone  un- 
der the  water. 

So  the  man  followed  the  kelpie.     His  heart 


TO  FAIRY  BOOK. 

was  sTvelling  with  grief;  and  all  his  love  for 
his  wife  and  child  had  come  back  to  him. 

He  looked  into  the  lake,  and  saw  the  fair 
city.  In  a  transparent  palace  Moneta  was 
sitting,  crowned  with  pearls,  the  child  sleep- 
ing on  her  bosom.     He  shouted,  — 

"  Come  back,  0  Moneta  !  *'  but  she  heard 
him  not. 

He  went  every  day  to  the  same  spot, 
never  leaving  it  until  the  water  was  clear, 
and  he  had  seen  his  wife  and  child.  He 
cared  no  more  for  his  fine  castle  and  his 
gold ;  for  the  castle  was  empty,  and  the  gold 
could  not  speak. 

"Alas,"  cried  he,  "  if  I  could  listen  to  the 
music  of  Moneta's  voice !  if  I  could  hold  the 
child  in  my  arms  once  more  ! '' 

Now  he  cared  for  nothing  but  to  gaze  into 
the  waters  at  Moneta  and  her  child. 

One  day,  the  water-kelpie  appeared  to  him 
in  the  form  of  an  old  man. 


THE  WATER-KELPIE.      Page  70. 


# 


tfe* 


THE  WATER. KELPIE.  71 

''  Why  sit  you  here,  sighing  like  the  north 
wind  ?  "  said  the  kelpie. 

"I  have  loved  gold  better  than  my  best 
friends,"  replied  Ivan ;  ^'  and  now  my  best 
friends  are  taken  away  from  me,  and  the  gold 
is  left ;  but  I  love  it  no  longer," 

^'  Ah,  ah  !  "  growled  the  kelpie  ;  ^^  I  have 
heard  of  such  men  as  you :  nothing  is  dear 
till  it  is  missed.  You  should  have  thought 
of  that  before.  If  your  lost  ones  were  to 
return,  you  would  treat  them  as  badly  as 
ever,  no  doubt." 

^^  No  no,"  groaned  Ivan ;  "  I  would  love 
them  better  than  all  the  wealth  in  the  world ! 
I  would  love  them  better  than  my  own  life  ! 
Ah,  the  sting  it  is  to  think  of  my  own  ingrati- 
tude ! " 

^^  Hold  ! "  said  the  kelpie :  "  grumble  to 
yourself  if  you  like,  but  don't  vex  my  ears 
with  your  complaints.      Suppose  I  were  to 


72  FAIRY  BOOK. 

bring  back  Moneta  and  the  child,  —  would 
3^ou  give  me  your  chests  of  gold  ?  '^ 

^^  That  I  will/'  cried  the  man,  ''  right  joy- 
fully." 

'^  Not  so  fast :  will  you  give  me  your  castle 
as  well?" 

"  Ah,  yes,  castle  and  gold ;  take  them,  and 
welcome." 

"Not  so  fast:  Moneta  and  her  child  are 
worth  more  than  these.  "Will  you  give  me 
the  castle  and  gold,  and  ten  years  of  your 
life?" 

"  With  all  my  heart." 

"Then,"  said  the  kelpie  "go  home,  and 
to-morrow  you  shall  see  Moneta  and  her 
child." 

When  the  morrow  came,  the  husband  and 
wife  wept  for  joy  at  meeting  once  more ;  and 
Ivan  said,  — 

"  Can  you  forgive  me,  dearest  Moneta  ?  " 


THE  WATER -KELPIE.  73 

Moneta  had  already  forgiven  him ;  and  the 
three  —  father,  mother,  and  child  —  loved 
one  another,  and  were  content  to  the  end  of 
their  lives  ;  and  Ivan  said,  — 

''  Once  for  all  I  have  found  that  gold  can- 
not make  one  happy ;  but,  with  the  blessing 
of  a  clear  conscience,  warm  hearts  and  loving 
words  are  the  sweetest  things  in  life." 


74  FAIRY  BOOK. 


THE    LOST    SYLPHID. 

"  I  tell  the  tale  as  'twas  told  to  me." 

I  HAVE  heard  that  one  night,  on  a  distant 
shore,  a  band  of  water-nixies  were  dancing 
to  gentle  music,  their  golden  sandals  twink- 
ling like  stars. 

A  lord  and  lady  were  walking  on  the  same 
shore.  The  lord's  eyes  were  bent  on  the 
ground  ;  but  his  wife  paused,  and  said,  — 

''  Listen,  my  lord,  to  that  enchanting  mu- 
sic!  "  ^ 

^^  I  hear  no  music,"  he  replied,  laughing. 
*'  You  must  wake  up,  dear  wife. 

"  With  half-shut  eyes,  ever  you  seem 
Falling  asleep  in  a  half-dream.' " 


THE   LOST  SYLPHID.  75 

^'But,  my  lord,  those  exquisite  beings  in 
gossamer  robes  !  surely  you  see  them  !  " 

'^  I  see  the  play  of  the  moonbeams,  my 
love,  and  nothing  more." 

But  the  wife  stood  transfixed.  One  beau- 
tiful fairy,  taller  and  fairer  than  her  compan- 
ions, had  wings,  and  floated  through  the 
dance,  scarcely  touching  the  earth. 

"Was  ever  such  a  vision  of  lovliness?" 
cried  the  enraptured  lady :  "  she  must  be  my 
own  little  daughter,  —  eat  of  my  bread,  and 
sleep  upon  my  bosom." 

Then,  kneeling,  she  sang,  — 

"  Fair  little  nixies,  that  dwell  near  the  •water, 
Give  me  the  winged  one  to  be  my  own  daughter.  '* 

The  dance  ceased.  The  nixies,  bewil- 
dered, looked  north  and  south,  and  knew 
not  which  way  to  flee  ;  but  the  winged  fairy, 
attracted   by  the  human  love  in  the  lady's 


76  FAIRY  BOOK. 

eyes,  glided  slowly  forward.  Then  the  nix- 
ies stormed  in  fierce  wrath,  their  willowy 
figures  swaying  to  and  fro  as  if  blown  by  the 
wind. 

^^  They  shall  not  harm  yon,  little  one. 
Come  with  me,  be  my  own  daughter,  and  I 
will  carry  you  home." 

"  Home  ! ''  echoed  the  lovely  child  ;  "  my 
home  is  in  the  Summer-land.  Oh,  will  you 
indeed  carry  me  there  ? '' 

Then  she  folded  her  white  wings,  and 
nestled  in  the  lady's  bosom  like  a  gentle 
dove,  and  was  borne  to  a  beautiful  castle  that 
overlooked  the  sea.  The  water-nixies  soon 
forgot  her,  for  they  could  not  hold  her  mem- 
ory in  their  little  humming-bird  hearts. 

She  was  not  of  their  race.  Her  wings 
were  soft  and  transparent,  like  those  of  a 
white  butterfly;  and  she  ever  declared  that 
she  had  once  alighted  from  a  cloud,  and  been 


THE    LOST   SYLPHID.  77 

caught  in  a  nixie's  net  spread  upon  the 
grass. 

But,  in  time,  her  wings  dwindled  and  disap- 
peared ;  and  then  the  lord,  who  was  now  her 
father,  could  not  remember  that  she  had  ever 
been  other  than  an  earthly  child. 

'^  You  fancy  you  were  once  a  sylphid," 
said  he ;  "  but  there  are  no  sylphids,  my 
sweet  one,  and  there  is  no  Summer-land."' 

The  child  became  as  dear  to  the  lord  and 
lady  as  their  very  heart's  blood;  and  they 
forgot  her  foreign  birth,  and  almost  believed, 
as  all  the  world  did,  that  she  was  their  own 
little  daughter.  But  the  child  did  not  for- 
get. She  longed  for  the  true  home  she  had 
left  ;  but  whither  should  she  go  to  seek 
it? 

"  Dear  papa,"  said  she,  one  day,  ^'  I  beg 
you  will  not  say  again  there  are  no  sylphids ; 
for  I  remember  so  well  how  I  spread   my 


78  FAIRY    BOOK. 

wings  and  flew.     It  was  glorious  to  see  the 
clouds  float  under  my  feet  !  '^ 

^^Veiy  well/'  said  the  lord;  '^  if  you  like, 
I  will  say  there  are  sylphids  in  the  air,  and 
trolls  inside  the  earth ;  and,  once  on  a  time, 
I  was  myself  a  great  white  butterfly :  do  you 
remember  chasing  me  over  a  bed  of  roses  ?  " 

''  0  papa,  now  you  laugh !  I  love  the 
twinkle  in  your  eye ;  and  I  am  so  glad  it  is 
you,  and  no  one  else,  who  is  my  papa;  but 
just  the  same,  and  forevermore,  I  shall  keep 
saying,  I  loas  a  sylj^liidV 

Sometimes,  when  she  set  her  white  teeth 
into  some  delicious  fruit,  she  said  with 
dreamy  eyes, — 

"  These  grapes  of  Samarcand  came  across 
the  seas ;  but  they  are  not  so  sweet  as  the 
fruit  in  my  own  garden,  mamma." 

"And  where  is  your  garden,  my  child  ?  " 

"  Oh,  in  the  Summer-land.     I  always  forget 


THE   LOST  SYLPHID.  7^ 

that  you  have  never  seen  it.  When  I  go 
there  again,  mamma,  I  will  certainly  take  yon 
too  ;  for  I  love  yon  with  all  my  heart.  I  can 
never  go  without  yon." 

When  she  heard  the  evening-bells  from  the 
minster,  she  said,  ^^  Oh,  they  are  like  the  joy- 
bells  at  home,  only  not  so  sweet.  Nothing, 
here,  is  so  sweet.  Even  my  dear  mamma  is 
not  so  lovely  as  the  lady  who  comes  when  I 
am  asleep." 

Little  One  —  they  called  her  Little  One  for 
the  want  of  a  name  —  loved  to  prattle  about 
the  wonders  of  that  mysterious  fairy-land, 
which  no  one  but  herself  had  ever  seen.  Her 
mother  would  not  check  her,  but  let  her  tell 
her  pretty  visions  of  remembered  rainbows, 
and  palaces,  and  precious  gems.     She  said,  — 

''The  child  has  such  a  vivid  fancy!  It  is 
not  all  of  us  who  can  see  pictures  when  our 
eyes  are  shut." 


80  FAIRY   BOOK. 

But  the  lord  was  not  so  well  pleased ;  and 
once,  when  his  daughter  looked  at  a  frozen 
stream  and  murmured,  '^  JVe  have  the  happi- 
est rivers  at  home  ;  they  sing  all  day  long, 
all  the  year,  without  freezing !  Can  I  find 
that  Summer- land  again  !  Oh,  I  would 
creep  all  over  the  world  to  seek  it, ''  he 
replied,  — 

"  Little  One,  it  is  some  cloud-city  you  are 
thinking  of,  some  dream-land,  or  isle  of  Long 
Ago,  which  you  will  never  see  again.  I  beg 
you  to  forget  these  wild  fancies.'' 

But  still  the  child  dreamed  on.  Once  she 
heard  the  glad  song  of  the  Hyperboreans  :  — 

"  I  come  from  a  land  in  the  sun-briglit  deep, 
Where  golden  gardens  glow  ; 
Where  the  winds  of  the  Korth,  becalmed  in  sleep, 
Their  conch-shells  never  blow." 

She  clapped  her  hands,  murmuring  to  her- 
self, — 


THE  LOST  SYLPHID,  81 

"  There  is  mj  home  !  I  think  I  remember 
now  it  was  ^a  land  in  the  sun -bright 
deep ! '  " 

So,  when  she  journeyed  with  her  parents 
to  distant  countries,  she  always  hoped  that 
some  ship  would  bear  her  away  to  the  Happy 
Isles ;  and  when  they  once  touched  a  bright 
shore,  and  some  one  cried,  ''  The  isles  of 
Greece  !  the  isles  of  Greece  ! ''  she  thought 
she  was  home  at  last,  and  hardly  dared  look 
at  the  remembered  shore.  But,  alas,  she  had 
not  yet  reached  the  Summer-land :  this  was 
not  her  home. 

Then  she  heard  her  father  say  that  the 
jewels  she  wore  had  been  brought  up  from 
the  deep  places  under  the  earth. 

''  I  wonder  I  had  not  thought  of  that,"  she 
said  to  herself  "  Since  there  are  such  beau- 
tiful gems  in  my  lost  home,  it  must  lie  under 
the  earth.     No  doubt  if  I  could  only  find  the 


82  FAIRY  BOOK. 

right  cave,  and  walk  in  it  far  enough'  I 
should  come  to  the  Summer-land." 

So  she  set  out,  one  daj^  in  wild  haste,  but 
only  lost  herself  in  a  deep  cavern ;  and,  when 
she  found  daylight  again,  she  was  all  alone 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  Her  father  and 
mother  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  She 
shouted  their  names,  and  ran  to  and  fro  seek- 
ing them  till  her  strength  was  all  spent.  It 
was  growing  dark ;  and  Little  One  could  only 
creep  under  a  shelter,  and  weep  herself 
asleep. 

Next  morning  it  was  no  better,  but  far 
worse.  Her  wretched  parents  had  gone 
home,  believing  her  drowned  in  the  sea. 
Poor  Little  One  was  now  all  alone  in  the 
world,  and  her  heart  ached  with  the  cold. 
Kind  friends  gave  her  food  and  shelter,  and 
her  clothing  was  warm  as  warm  could  be ; 
still  her  heart  ached  with  the  cold.     People 


THE    LOST  SYLPHID.  83 

praised  her  beauty  so  much  that  she  dared 
not  look  up  to  let  them  see  how  lovely  she 
was;  but  she  had  lost  both  her  father  and 
mother,  and  her  heart  ached  and  ached.  She 
thought  winter  was  coming  on  ;  and  the 
world  was  growing  so  chilly,  that  now  she 
must  certainly  set  out  for  the  Summer-land. 
Then  she  said,  — 

'^  If  I  am  a  sylphid,  perhaps  my  home  is 
over  the  hills,  and  far  away.  Yes  :  I  think  it 
must  be  in  the  country  where  the  music 
goes." 

For  she  thought,  when  she  heard  music, 
that  it  seemed  to  hover  and  float  over  the 
earth,  and  lose  itself  in  the  sky ;  so  she  be- 
gan to  set  her  face  toward  the  country  where 
the  music  goes.  But,  though  she  gazed  till 
her  eyes  ached,  she  never  saw  her  long-lost 
home,  nor  so  much  as  a  glimpse  of  one  of  its 
spires. 


84  FAIRY  BOOK. 

One  night,  after  gazing  and  weeping  till 
she  could  scarcely  see,  and  had  no  tears  left, 
the  bright  being  who  visited  her  dreams 
came  and  whispered, — 

"  If  tliere  be  a  land  so  fair 

O'er  the  mountain  shining, 
You  will  never  enter  there 
By  looking  up  and  pining." 

*'  Dear  me  !  then  what  shall  I  do  ? "  said 
Little  One,  clasping  her  hands.  '^  I  am  tired 
of  the  dropping  rain,  and  the  bleak  winds  ; 
I  have  lost  my  father  and  mother  ;  I  long  to 
go  home  to  the  Summer-land.'^ 

"  There  are  hills  to  climb,  and  streams  to 
cross,"  said  the  fairy. 

^'  But  I  have  stout  shoes,"  laughed  Little 
One. 


There  are  thorns  and  briers  all  along  the 


road." 


THE  LOST  SYLPHID.  85 

^  But  I  can  bear  to  be  pricked." 

"  Then  I  will  guide  you/'  said  the  fairy. 

"  How  can  that  be  ? "  cried  the  child. 
*'You  come  to  me  in  dreams;  but  by  day- 
light I  cannot  see  so  much  as  the  tips  of 
your  wings." 

"  Listen,  and  you  will  hear  my  voice,"  re- 
plied the  fairy.  ^^  Set  out  toward  the  East, 
at  dawn,  to-morrow,  and  I  will  be  with  you." 

When  Little  One  awoke,  the  sun  was  rising, 
and  she  said, — 

"  Oh  that  golden  gate  !  The  sun  has  left 
it  open:  do  you  see  it,  beautiful  lady?" 

''  I  see  it,"  whispered  the  fairy :  ''  I  am 
close  beside  you." 

"  Then,"  said  Little  One,  fastening  her 
dress,  and  putting  on  all  the  jewels  she  could 
possibly  carry,  '^  I  think  I  will  set  out  at 
once ;  for,  if  I  make  all  speed,  I  may  reach 
the  Suromer-land  before  that  golden  gate  is 
closed." 


86  FAIRY  BOOK. 

She  pressed  on,  as  the  fairy  directed,  up  a 
steep  hill,  her  eyes  fixed  on  the  glowing  east- 
ern sky.  But,  as  the  sun  strode  up  higher, 
the  morning  clouds  melted  away. 

"  Where  is  my  golden  gate  ? "  cried  the 
child. 

"Weeping  so  soon?"  whispered  the  fairy. 

*'  Do  not  scold  me,  dear  Whisper,"  moaned 
the  child ;  "  you  know  I  have  lost  my  kind 
father  and  mother  ;  and  the  thorns  prick  me  ; 
and  then  this  is  such  a  lonely  road ;  there  is 
nobody  to  be  seen." 

The  truth  was,  there  were  children  gather- 
ing strawberries  on  the  hill,  and  old  women 
digging  herbs;  but  Little  One  did  not  see 
them,  for  she  was  all  the  while  watching  the 
sky.  But  she  was  soon  obliged  to  pause,  and 
take  breath. 

''Look  about  you,"  said  the  Whisper,  ''you 
may  see  some  one  as  unhappy  as  yourself."  . 


THE  LOST  SYLPHID.  87 

The  child  looked,  and  saw  a  little  girl  driv- 
ing a  goat ;  while  large  tears  trickled  down 
her  cheeks,  and  moistened  her  tattered  dress. 
For  a  moment,  Little  One's  heart  ceased  ach- 
ing with  its  own  troubles. 

"What  is  your  name,  little  girl?"  said  she: 
"  and  why  do  you  weep  ?  " 

'^My  name  is  Poor  Dorel,"  replied  the 
child :  "  my  father  and  mother  are  long  since 
dead ;  and  I  have  nothing  to  eat  but  goat's 
milk  and  strawberries :  "  and,  as  she  spoke, 
the  large  tears  started  afresh. 

"  Poor  Dorel !  you  are  the  first  one  I  ever 
saw  who  had  as  much  trouble  as  I.  I,  too, 
have  lost  a  father  and  mother." 

"Were  they  a  king  and  queen?"  asked 
Dorel,  wiping  her  eyes,  and  gazing  at  Little 
One's  beautiful  dress  and  glittering  orna- 
ments. 

*^  They   loved   me   dearly,"    replied    Little 


88  FAIRY  BOOK. 

One  sadly ;  ^^  yet  I  never  heard  tliat  they 
were  king  and  queen.  Come  with  me,  dar- 
ling Dorel !  "  I  never  before  saw  any  one  who 
was  hungry.  Come  with  me  !  I  live  in  a 
country  where  there  is  food  enough  for 
everybody." 

^' Where  is  that?''  said  Dorel,  eagerly. 

'^  I  do  not  quite  know,  little  girl;  but  it  is 
not  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  and  it  is  not  in 
the  sun-bright  deep  :  so  I  suppose  it  is  over 
the  hills,  and  far  away." 

''  Now  I  know  who  you  are,"  said  Dorel. 
"You  are  the  lost  syljjhid;  and  people  say 
you  have  travelled  all  over  the  world.  But, 
if  you  do  not  know  the  way  home,  pray  how 
can  you  tell  which  road  to  take  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  I  have  a  guide,  —  a  beautiful  fairy, 
called  Whisper :  she  shows  me  every  step  of 
the  way.  I  wish  you  would  go  too,  little 
Dorel ! " 


THE  LOST  BYLPHID.  89 

''  I  think  I  will  not,  little  Sylphid ;  for,  if 
you  have  only  n  Whisper  for  a  guide,  I  do 
not  believe  you  will  ever  get  there ;  but,  oh, 
you  are  very,  very  beautiful !  " 

"  If  you  will  not  go,"  said  Little  One,  '*  let 
me,  at  least,  give  you  a  few  of  ray  jewels : 
you  can  sell  them  for  bread." 

So  saying,  she  took  from  her  girdle  some 
turquoise  ornaments,  and  placed  them  in  Bo- 
rel's  hand  with  a  kiss  which  had  her  whole 
heart  in  it. 

"  Now  I  love  you,"  said  Dorel ;  ''  but  more 
for  the  kiss  than  any  thing  else  ;  and  I  am 
going  before  you  to  cut  down  the  thorns 
that  shoot  out  by  the  wayside.  I  am  a  little 
mountain-girl,  and  know  how  to  use  the 
pruning-knife." 

Little  One  danced  for  joy.  She  found  she 
could  now  walk  with  wonderful  ease  ;  for  not 
only  were   there   no   more    sharp  thorns  to 


90  FAIRY  BOOK. 

prick  her^  but  her  heart  was  also  full  of  a 
new  love;  which  made  the  whole  world  look 
beautiful. 

"  You  see  the  way  is  growing  easier,"  said 
the  Whisper. 

"  Pour  out  thy  love  like  the  rush  of  a  river, 
Wasting  its  waters  forever  and  ever.'* 

''  So  I  will,"  said  Little  One.  "  Is  there 
any  one  else  to  love  ?  " 

By  and  by  she  met  an  old  woman,  bent 
nearly  double,  and  picking  up  dry  sticks  with 
trembling  hands. 

''Poor  woman!"  said  Little  One:  ''I  am 
going  to  love  you." 

"  Dear  me  ! "  said  the  old  crone,  dropping 
her  sticks,  and  looking  up  with  surprise  in 
every  wrinkle :  ''  you  don't  mean  me  ?  Why, 
my  heart  is  all  dried  up." 

"  Then  you  need  to  be  loved  all  the  more," 
cried  Little  One  heartily. 


THE  LOST  SYLPHID.  91 

The  poor  woman  laughed;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  brushed  a  tear  from  her  eye  with  the 
corner  of  her  apron. 

"I  thought,"  said  Little  One,  "I  was  the 
only  unhappy  one  in  the  world:  it  seemed 
a  pity  my  heart  should  ache  so  much ;  but, 
oh,  I  would  rather  have  it  ache  than  be  dried 
up  ! " 

''  I  suppose  you  never  were  beaten,''  said 
the  old  woman :  '^  you  were  never  pelted 
with  whizzing  stones  ? '' 

'^  Indeed  I  never,  never  was  !  "  replied  Lit- 
tle One,  greatly  shocked  by  the  question. 

''  By  your  costly  dress,  I  know  you  never 
were  so  poor  as  to  be  always  longing  for 
food.  Let  me  tell  you,  my  good  child,  when 
one  is  beaten  and  scolded,  and  feels  cold  all 
winter,  and  hungry  all  summer,  it  is  no  won- 
der one's  heart  dries  up  !  " 

Little  One  threw  her  arms  about  the  old 


92  FAIRY  BOOK. 

woman's  neck.  '^  Let  me  help  you  pick 
sticks  !  "  said  she ;  "  you  are  too  old  for  hard 
work ;  your  hands  tremble  too  much." 

Swiftly  gathering  up  a  load  of  fagots,  she 
put  them  together  in  a  bundle. 

"  Now,  how  many  jewels  shall  I  give  her  ?  '^ 
thought  the  child.  ^^  She  must  never  want 
for  food  again.'' 

^'  How  many  ?  "  echoed  the  Whisper. 

"  Give  as  the  morning  that  flows  out  of  heaven : 
Give  as  the  free  air  and  sunshine  are  given." 

"  Then  she  shall  have  half/'  said  Little 
One  in  great  glee.  ^'  Here,  poor  woman, 
take  these  sapphires  and  rubies  and  di.a- 
monds,  and  never  be  hungry  again  !  " 

"  Heavenly  child  !  "  said  the  stranger,  lay- 
ing her  wasted  hand  on  the  sylphid's  bright 
head,  and  blessing  her,  "  it  is  little  except 
thanks  that  an  old  creature  like  me  can  give  j 


THE   LOST  SYLPHID.  93 

yet  may  be  you  will  not  scorn  this  pair  of  lit- 
tle shoes  :  they  are  strong,  and,  when  you 
have  to  step  on  the  sharp  mountain-rocks, 
they  will  serve  you  well." 

Little  One's  delicate  slippers  were  already 
much  worn,  and  she  gladly  exchanged  them 
for  the  goat-skin  shoes ;  but,  strange  to  re- 
late, no  sooner  had  she  done  so  than  she 
found  herself  flitting  over  rocks  and  rough 
places  with  perfect  ease,  and  at  such  speedy 
that,  when  she  looked  back,  in  a  moment,  she 
had  already  left  the  old  woman  far  behind, 
and  out  of  sight.  They  were  magical  shoes ; 
butj  no  matter  how  fast  they  skimmed  over 
the  ground,  Dorel,  out  of  pure  love,  con- 
tinued to  go  before,  talking  and  laughing  and 
smoothing  the  way. 

One  by  one  Little  One  sold  her  jewels  to 
buy  bread,  which  she  shared  with  all  the 
needy   she    chanced   to   meet.     After    many 


94  FAIRY   BOOK. 

days  there  remained  but  one  gem ;  and  she 
wept  because  she  had  no  more  to  give.  But, 
through  her  tears,  she  now,  for  the  first  time, 
fancied  she  could  see  the  spires  and  turrets 
of  her  beautiful  home,  though,  as  yet,  very 
far  ofi*. 

''  How  fast  I  have  come  !  "  said  she,  laugh- 
ing with  delight.  '^  But  for  these  magical 
shoes,  and  Dorel's  pruning-knife,  I  should 
have  been  even  now  struggling  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill." 

Then  she  looked  down  at  her  torn  dress. 

^^  "What  a  sad  plight  I  am  in  !  no  one  will 
know  me  when  I  get  home  ! " 

"  Never  fear !  "  said  the  fairy :  "  you  are 
sure  to  be  welcome." 

Little  One  now  held  up  her  last  jewel  in 
the  sunlight,  while  a  starving  boy  looked  at 
it  with  eager  eyes. 

"  Take  it ! "  said  she,  weeping  with  the  ten- 


fe 


::;:lA  '&J'& 


THE   LOST   SYLPHID.      Page  95. 


THE   LOST  SYLPHID.  95 

derest  pity.  '^  I  only  wish  it  were  a  diar 
mond  instead  of  a  ruby,  —  a  diamond  as 
large  as  my  heart !  " 

The  boy  blessed  her  with  a  tremulous 
voice.  Little  One  pressed  on,  singing  softly 
to  herself,  till  she  came  to  a  frightful  chasm, 
full  of  water. 

'^  How  shall  I  ever  cross  it ! ''  she  cried  in 
alarm. 

"  May  I  help  you,  fair  Sylphid  ?  "  said  the 
grateful  boy  to  whom  she  had  given  her  last 
jewel.  ''  I  can  make  a  bridge  in  the  twink- 
ling of  an  eye.'' 

So  saying,  he  threw  across  the  roaring 
torrent  a  film  which  looked  as  frail  as  any 
spider's  web. 

^^  It  will  bear  you/'  said  the  Whisper :  "  do 
not  be  afraid  !  " 

So  Little  One  ventured  upon  the  gossamer 
bridge,  which  was  to  the  eye  as  delicate  as 


96  FAIRY  BOOK. 

mist;  but  to  the  feet  as  strong  as  adamant. 
She  hushed  her  fears,  and  walked  over  it 
with  a  stout  heart. 

Now,  she  was  on  the  borders  of  the  Sum- 
mer-land. Here  were  the  turrets  and  spires, 
the  soft  white  clouds,  the  green  fields,  and 
sunny  streams.  Instantly  her  long-lost  wings 
appeared  again ;  and  she  spread  them  like  a 
happy  bird,  and  flew  home.  Oh,  it  was 
worth  years  of  longing  and  pain !  She  was 
held  in  tender  embraces,  and  kissed  lovingly 
by  well-remembered  friends.  To  her  great 
surprise  and  delight,  her  father  and  mother 
were  both  there  they  had  arrived  at  the 
Summer-land  while  seeking  their  Little  One. 

"  Now  I  know,"  said  her  father,  '^  that  my 
daughter  was  not  dreaming  when  she  longed 
for  her  remembered  home." 

Little  One  looked  at  her  soiled  dress ;  but 
the  stains  had  disappeared ;  and,  most  won- 


THE   LOST   SYLPHID.  97 

derful !  all  the  jewels  she  had  worn  on  her 
neck  and  arms,  and  in  her  girdle,  were  there 
yet,  burning  with  increased  brilliancy.  Lit- 
tle One  gazed  again,  and  counted  to  see  if 
any  were  missing.  Yes  :  two  she  had  sold  for 
bread  were  not  there.  It  was  the  jewels  she 
had  given  away  which  had  come  back  in 
some  mysterious  manner  and  were  more  re- 
splendent than  before. 

''  Ah !  "  said  she,  with  a  beaming  smile, 
'^  now  I  know  what  it  means  when  they  say, 
*  All  you  give,  you  will  carry  with  you.'  It 
was  delightful  to  scatter  my  gems  by  the 
wayside  ,*  but  I  did  not  think  they  would  all 
be  given  back  to  me  when  I  reached  home  ! '' 

Then,  intwining  arms  with  a  bright  syl- 
phid,  she  flew  with  her  over  the  gardens  in 
a  trance  of  delight. 

"  Here,"  said  Little  One,  "  is  my  own  dear 
garden.     I   remember   the    border   and   the 


98  FAIEY  BOOK. 

paths  right  well;  but  it  never  bore  such 
golden  fruit,  it  never  glowed  with  such  beau- 
tiful flowers." 

*^  Your  fairy,  the  one  you  call  Whisper,  has 
taken  care  of  it  for  your  sake,"  said  the 
sister  sylphid.  ''  Do  you  know  that  those 
flowers,  and  those  trees  with  fruit  like  *  bon- 
ny beaten  gold,'  have  been  watered  by  your 
tears,  Little  One  ?  It  is  in  this  way  they 
have  attained  their  matchless  beauty  and 
grace." 

^^My  tearSf  little  sister?" 

"Yes,  your  tears.  Every  one  you  shed 
upon  earth,  your  fairy  most  carefully  pre- 
served ;  and  see  what  wonders  have  been 
wrought ! " 

"If  I  had  known  that,"  said  Little  One 
clapping  her  hands,  "  I  would  have  been  glad 
of  all  my  troubles !  I  would  have  smiled 
through  my  tears ! " 


THE   LOST  SYLPHID.  99 

Now  I  know  no  more  than  I  have  told  of 
this  story  of  the  Lost  Sylphid.  I  tell  the 
tale  as  'twas  told  to  me  ;  and  I^wish,  with  all 
my  heart,  it  were  true. 


100  FAIRY  BOOK. 


THE    CASTLE    OF    GEMS. 

Once  upon  a  time,  though  I  cannot  tell 
when,  and  in  what  country  I  do  not  now  re- 
member, there  lived  a  maiden  as  fair  as  a 
lily,  as  gentle  as  a  dewdrop,  and  as  modest 
as  a  violet.  A  pure,  sweet  name  she  had,  — 
it  was  Blanche. 

She  stood  one  evening,  with  her  friend 
Victor,  by  the  shore  of  a  lake.  Never  had 
the  youth  or  maiden  seen  the  moonlight  so 
enchanting ;  but  they  did  not  know 

"  It  was  midsummer  day, 
When  all  tlie  fairy  people 
From  elf-land  come  away." 

Presently,  while  they  gazed  at  the  lake, 
which  shone  like  liquid  emerald  and  sapphire 


THE  CASTLE  OF,  GEMS,  101 

and  topaz,  a  boat,  laden  with  strangely  beau- 
tiful beings,  glided  towards  them  across  the 
waters.  The  fair  voyagers  were  clad  in 
robes  of  misty  blue  with  white  mantles 
about  their  waists,  and  on  their  heads 
wreaths  of  valley-lilies. 

They  were  all  as  fair  as  need  be  ;  but  fair- 
est of  all  was  the  helms-woman,  the  queen  of 
the  fairies.  Her  face  Avas  soft  and  clear  like 
moonlight ;  and  she  wore  a  crown  of  nine 
large  diamonds,  which  refracted  the  evening 
rays,  and  formed  nine  lunar  rainbows. 

The  fairies  were  singing  a  roundelay ;  and, 
as  .the  melody  floated  over  the  waters,  Victor 
and  Blanche  hstened  with  throbbing  hearts. 
Fairy  music  has  almost  pa'Ssed  away  from  the 
earth;  but  those  who  hear  it  are  strangely 
moved,  and  have  dreams  of  beautiful  things 
which  have  been,  and  may  be  again. 

''  It  makes  me  think  of  the  days  of  long 


lOii  FAIRY  BOOK. 

ago  when  there  was  no  sin,"  whispered 
Blanche. 

'^  It  makes  me  long  to  be  a  hero,"  answered 
"Victor  with  a  sparkling  eye. 

All  the  while  the  pearly  boat  was  drifting 
toward  the  youth  and  maiden ;  and,  when  it 
had  touched  the  shore,  the  queen  stepped 
out  upon  the  land  as  lightly  as  if  she  had 
been  made  entirely  of  dewdrops. 

^^  I  am  Fontana,"  said  she ;  "  and  is  this 
Blanche?" 

She  laid  her  soft  hand  upon  the  maid- 
en's shoulder ;  and  Blanche  thought  she 
would  like  to  die  then  and  there,  so  full  was 
she  of  joy. 

^'  I  have  heard  of  thy  good  heart,  my 
maiden  :  now  what  would  please  thee 
most  ?  "  said  the  queen. 

Blanche  bowed  her  head,  and  dared  not 
speak. 


THE  CASTLE   OF   GEMS.  103 

Queen  Fontana  smiled :  when  she  smiled 
it  was  as  if  a  soft  cloud  had  slid  away  from 
the  moon,  revealing  a  beautiful  light. 

*'  Say  pearls  and  diamonds,"  said  Yictor  in 
her  ear. 

'^  I  don't  know,"  whispered  Blanche :  "  they 
are  not  the  best  things." 

"  No,"  said  the  queen  kindly :  "  pearls  and 
diamonds  are  not  the  best  things." 

Then  Blanche  knew  that  her  whisper  had 
been  overheard,  and  she  hid  her  face  in 
her  hands  for  shame.  But  the  queen 
only  smiled  down  on  her,  and,  without  speak- 
ing, dropped  into  the  ground  a  little  seed. 
Eight  at  the  feet  of  Blanche,  it  fell ;  and,  in  a 
moment,  two  green  leaves  shot  upward,  and 
between  them  a  spotless  lily,  which  hung  its 
head  with  modest  grace. 

Yictor  gazed  at  the  perfect  flower  in  won- 
der, and,  before  he  knew  it,  said  aloud,  "Ah, 
how  like  Blanche  ! " 


104  FAIRY   BOOK. 

The  queen  herself  broke  it  from,  the  steni, 
and  gave  it  to  the  maiden,-  saying,  — 

^'  Take  it !  it  is  my  choicest  gift.  Till  it 
fades  (which  will  never  be),  love  will  be 
thine ;  and,  in  time  to  come,  it  will  have 
power  to  open  the  strongest  locks,  and  swing 
back  the  heaviest  doors. 

'  Gates  of  brass  cannot  withstand 
One  touch  of  this  magic  wand.' " 

Blanche  looked  up  to  thank  the  queen; 
but  no  words  came,  —  only  tears. 

'^  I  see  a  wish  in  thine  eyes "  said  Fon- 
tana. 

^'It  is  for  Yictor,"  falte'i'ed  Blanche,  at 
last:  ''he  wishes  to  be  rich  and  great." 

The  queen  looked  grave. 

''  Shall  I  make  him  one  of  the  great  men 
of  the  earth,  little  Blanche  ?     Then  he  may 


THE   CASTLE  OP   GEMS.  105 

one  day  go  to  the  ends  of  the  world,  and  for- 
get thee." 

Blanche  only  smiled,  and  Victor's  cheek 
flushed. 

'^  I  shall  be  a  great  man/'  said  he,  —  "  per- 
haps a  prince ;  but,  where  I  go,  Blanche  shall 
go  :  she  will  be  my  wife." 

^'  That  is  well,"  said  the  queen  :  ''  never 
forget  Blanche,  for  her  love  will  be  your 
dearest  blessing." 

Then,  removing  from  her  girdle  a  pair  of 
spectacles,  she  placed  them  in  the  youth's 
hand.  He  drew  back  in  surprise.  ^'  Does 
she  take  me  for  an  old  man?  "thought  he. 
He  had  expected  a  casket  of  gems  at  least  ; 
perhaps  a  crown. 

^' Wait,"  said  Fontana:  *' they  are  the  eyes 
of  Wisdom.  When  you  have  learned  their 
use,  you  will  not  despise  my  gift.  Keep  a 
pure  heart,  and  always  remember  Blanche. 
And  now  farewell ! " 


106  FAIRY  BOOK. 

So  saying,  she  moved  on  to  the  boat,  float- 
ing over  the  ground  as  softly  as  a  creeping 
mist. 

When  Blanche  awoke  next  morning,  her 
first  thought  was,  "  Happy  are  the  maidens 
who  have  sweet  dreams  !  "  for  she  thought 
she  had  only  been  wandering  in  a  midsum- 
mer's night's  dream ;  so,  when  she  saw  her  lily 
in  the  broken  pitcher  where  she  had  placed 
it,  great  was  her  delight.  But  a  change  had 
come  over  it  during  the  night.  It  was  no 
longer  a  common  lily,  —  its  petals  were  large 
pearls,  and  the  green  leaves  were  now  green 
emeralds.  This  strange  thing  had  happened 
to  the  flower,  that  it  might  never  fade. 

After  this,  people  looked  at  Blanche,  and 
said,  ^'How  is  it?  she  grows  fairer  every 
day ! "  and  every  one  loved  her;  for  the  hu- 
man heart  has  no  choice  but  to  love  what  is 
good  and  gentle. 


THE  CASTLE  OP  GEMS.  107 

As  for  Victor,  he  at  first  put  on  his  specta- 
cles with  a  scornful  smile :  but,  when  he  had 
worn  them  a  moment,  he  found  them  very 
wonderful  things.  When  he  looked  through 
them,  he  could  see  people's  thoughts  written 
out  on  their  faces ;  he  could  easily  decipher 
the  fine  writing  which  you  see  traced  ou 
green  leaves ;  and  found  there  were  long 
stories  written  on  pebbles  in  "little  black  and 
gray  dots. 

When  he  wore  the  spectacles,  he  looked  so 
wise,  that  Blanche  hardly  dared  speak  to  him. 
She  saw  that  one  day  he  was  to  become  a 
great  man. 

At  last  Victor  said  he  must  leave  his  home, 
and  sail  across  the  seas.  Tears  filled  the 
eyes  of  Blanche ;  but  the  youth  whis- 
pered, — 

'^  I  am  going  away  to  find  a  home  for  you 
and  me :  so  adieu,  dearest  Blanche  1 " 


108  FAIRY   BOOK. 

Now  Victor  tliouglit  the  ship  in  which  he 
sailed  moved  very  slowly ;  for  he  longed  to 
reach  the  land  which  he  could  see  through 
his  magic  spectacles :  it  was  a  beautiful  king- 
dom, rich  with  mines  of  gold  and  silver. 

When  the  ship  touched  shore^  the  streets 
were  lined  with  people  who  walked  to  and 
fro  with  sad  faces.  The  king's  daughter,  a 
beautiful  young  maiden,  was  very  ill ;  and  it 
was  feared  she  must  die. 

Victor  asked  one  of  the  people  if  there 
was  no  hope. 

It  so  happened  that  this  man  was  the 
greatest  physician  in  the  kingdom  and  he 
answered,  — 

"  Alas,  there  is  no  hope  !  " 

Then  Victor  went  to  a  distant  forest  where 
he  knew  a  healing  spring  was  to  be  found. 
Very  few  remembered  it  was  there  ;  and 
those  who  had  seen  it  did  not  know  of  its 
power  to  heal  disease. 


THE   CASTLE   OF   GEMS.  109 

Yictor  filled  a  crystal  goblet  with  the  pre- 
cious water,  and  carried  it  to  the  palace. 
The  old  king  shook  his  head  sadly,  but  con- 
sented to  let  the  attendants  moisten  the 
parched  lips  of  the  princess  with  the  water, 
as  it  could  do  no  harm.  Far  from  doing 
harm,  it  wrought  a  great  good ;  and,  in  time, 
the  roy^  maiden  was  restored  to  health. 

Then,  for  gratitude,  the  king  would  have 
given  his  daughter  to  Yictor  for  a  wife ;  but 
Victor  remembered  Blanche,  and  knew  that 
no  other  maiden  must  be  bride  of  his. 

Kot  long  after  this,  the  king  was  lost  over- 
board at  sea  during  a  storm.  Now  the  peo- 
ple must  have  a  new  ruler.  They  deter- 
mined to  choose  a  wise  and  brave  man  ;  and, 
young  as  he  was,  no  man  could  be  found 
braver  and  wiser  than  Yictor :  so  the  people 
elected  him  for  their  king.  Thus  Fontana's 
gift  of  the  eyes  of  Wisdom  had  made  him 
truly  "  one  of  the  great  men  of  earth.'' 


110  FAIRY  BOOK. 

In  her  humble  home,  Blanche  dreamed 
every  night  of  Victor,  and  hoped  he  would 
grow  good,  if  he  did  not  become  great ;  and 
Victor  remembered  Blanche,  and  knew  that 
her  love  was  his  dearest  blessing. 

^^  This  old  palace,"  thought  he  ^'  will  never 
do  for  my  beautiful  bride." 

So  he  called  together  his  people,^nd  told 
them  he  must  have  a  castle  of  gems.  Some 
of  the  walls  were  to  be  of  rubies,  some  of 
emeralds,  some  of  pearls.  There  was  to  be 
any  amount  of  beaten  gold  for  doors  and 
pillars ;  and  the  ceilings  were  to  be  of  milk- 
white  opals,  with  a  rosy  light  which  comes 
and  goes. 

All  was  done  as  he  desired ;  and,  when  the 
castle  of  gems  was  finished,  it  would  need  a 
pen  of  jasponyx  dipped  in  rainbows  to  de- 
scribe it. 

Victor  thought  he  would  not  have  a  guard 


THE   CASTLE  OF   GEMS.  Ill 

of  soldiers  for  his  castle,  but  would  lock  tlie 
four  golden  gates  with  a  raagic  key,  so  that 
no  one  could  enter  unless  the  gates  should 
swing  back  of  their  own  accord. 

When  the  castle  of  gems  was  just  com- 
pleted, and  not  a  soul  was  in  it,  Victor  locked 
the  gates  with  a  magic  key,  and  then  dropped 
the  key  into  the  ocean. 

"  Now,"  thought  he,  *'  I  have  done  a  wise 
thing.  None  but  the  good  and  true  can  enter 
my  castle  of  gems.  The  gates  will  not  swing 
open  for  men  with  base  thoughts  or  proud 
hearts ! " 

Then  he  hid  himself  under  the  shadow  of 
a  tree,  and  watched  the  people  trying  to 
enter.  But  they  were  proud  men,  and  so  the 
gates  would  not  open. 

King  Yictor  laughed,  and  said  to  him- 
self, — 

^'  I  have  done  a  wise  thing  with  my  magic 


112  FAIRY  BOOK. 

key.  How  safe  I  shall  be  in  my  castle  of 
gems !  '^ 

So  he  stepped  out  of  his  hiding-place,  and 
said  to  the  people,  — 

"  None  but  the  good  and  true  can  get  in." 

Then  he  tried  to  go  in  himself;  but  the 
gates  would  not  move. 

The  king  bowed  his  head  in  shame^  and 
walked  back  to  his  old  palace. 

'^  Alas  ! "  said  he  to  himself,  "  wise  and 
great  as  I  am,  I  thought  I  could  go  in.  I  see 
it  must  be  because  I  am  filled  with  pride. 
Let  me  hide  my  face ;  for  what  would 
Blanche  say  if  she  knew,  that,  because  my 
heart  is  proud,  I  am  shut  out  of  my  own  cas- 
tle? I  am  not  worthy  that  she  should  love 
me  ;  but  I  hope  I  shall  learn  of  her  to  be 
humble  and  good." 

The  next  day  he  sailed  for  the  home  of  his 
childhood.      When    Blanche    saw    him,    she 


THE  CASTLE   OF  GEMS.  113 

blushed,  and  cast  down  her  eyes ;  but  Yictor 
knew  they  were  full  of  tears  of  joy.  He 
held  her  hand,  and  whispered,  — 

^'  Will  you  go  with  me  and  be  my  bride, 
beautiful  Blanche  ?  " 

^^  I  will  go  with  you,"  she  answered  soft- 
ly ;  and  Victor's  heart  rejoiced. 

All  the  while  Blanche  never  dreamed  that 
he  was  a  great  prince,  and  that  the  men  who 
came  with  him  were  his  courtiers.  *• 

When  they  reached  Victor's  kingdom,  and 
the  people  shouted  '^  Long  live  the  queen  ! " 
Blanche  veiled  her  face,  and  trembled ;  for 
Victor  whispered  in  her  ear  that  the  shouts 
were  for  her.  And,  as  the  people  saw  her 
beautiful  face  through  her  gossamer  veil, 
they  cried  all  the  more  loudly,  — 

''  Long  live  Queen  Blanche !  Thrice  wel- 
come, fair  lady ! " 

The  sun  was  sinking  in  the  west,  and  his 


114  FAIRY  BOOK. 

rays  fell  with  dazzling  splendor  upon  the  cas- 
tle of  gems.  When  Blanche  saw  the  silent, 
closed  castle  and  its  golden  gates,  she  re- 
membered the  words  of  Queen  Fontana,  who 
had  said  that  her  lily  should  have  power  to 
"open  the  strongest  locks,  and  swing  back 
the  heaviest  doors." 

Like  one  walking  in  a  dream,  she  led  Tic- 
tor  toward  the  resplendent  castle.  She 
touched,  with  her  lily,  the  lock  which  fas- 
tened  one  of  the  gates. 

"  Gates  of  gold  could  not  withstand 
One  toucli  of  that  magic  wand." 

In  an  instant,  the  hinges  trembled ;  and  the 
massive  door  swung  open  so  far,  that  forty 
people  could  walk  in  side  by  side.  Then  it 
slowly  closed,  and  locked  itself  without 
noise. 

One  of  the  people  who  passed  in  was  the 


THE   CASTLE   OF  GEMS.  115 

king,  whose  heart  was  no  longer  proud.  The 
others,  who  had  entered  unwittingly,  could 
not  speak  for  wonder.  Some  of  them  were 
poor,  and  some  were  lame  or  blind;  but  all 
were  good  and  true. 

At  the  rising  of  the  moon  a  wonderful 
thing  came  to  pass.  The  people  entered  the 
castle  of  gems,  and  became  beautiful.  This 
was  through  the  power  of  the  magic  lily. 

Now  there  were  no  more  crooked  backs 
and  lame  feet  and  sightless  eyes  ;  and  the 
king  looked  at  these  people,  who  were  beau- 
tiful as  well  as  good,  and  declared  he  would 
have  them  live  in  the  castle ;  and  the  gen- 
tlemen should  be  knights;  and  the  ladies, 
maids  of  honor. 

To  this  day  Victor  and  Blanche  rule  the 
kingdom ;  and  such  is  the  charm  of  the  lily, 
■ — so  like  the  pure  heart  of  the  queen,  —  that 
the  people  are  becoming  gentle  and  good. 


116  FAIRY  BOOK. 

Until  Queen  Fontana  shall  call  for  the 
magic  spectacles  and  the  lily  of  pearl,  it  is 
believed  that  Victor  and  Blanche  will  live  in 
fiiQ  castle  of  gems,  though  the  time  should  be 
a  hundred  years. 


THE  ELF  OF  LIGHT.  117 


THE    ELF    OF    LIGHT. 

A     NOESE     TALE. 

In  the  strange  island  of  Iceland,  thrown 
Tip,  by  fire,  from  the  depths  of  the  sea,  there 
once  lived  a  lad  who  worshipped  the  god 
Odin,  and  was  tanght  from  two  absurd  books 
called  the  Eddas.  He  wished  to  fight  and 
die  on  a  battle-field,  so  that  his  soul  might 
cross  a  rainbow-bridge,  and  dwell  in  the 
beautiful  halls  of  Yalhalla.  There  —  so  the 
Eddas  say —  are  the  chosen  heroes,  who  are 
forever  fighting  all  day,  and  feasting  all 
night. 

Thus,  instead  of  a  Bible,  young  Thule 
studied  wild  fairy-tales ;  yet.  for  all  his  hea- 


118  FAIRY  BOOK. 

thenish  trainingj  he  had  some  noble  traits, 
which  a  Christian  lad  might  imitate. 

He  lived  with  his  widowed  mother  at  the 
edge  of  a  forest.  The  snow  piled  itself  in 
drifts^  and  the  wind  howled  through  the 
trees,  and  crept  in  at  the  windows ;  for  the 
cottage  was  old,  and  a  blind  hurricane  might 
almost  have  mistaken  it  for  a  heap  of  brush- 
wood. But  Thule  was  quite  as  happy  as  if 
the  hut  had  been  a  palace.  He  loved  the 
winter-beauty  of  his  mother's  face,  and  the 
silvery  hair  half  hidden  under  her  black 
cap.  All  the  fire  they  burned  was  made 
of  the  dry  sticks  he  gathered  in  the  forest, 
and  more  than  half  the  money  they  used 
was  earned  by  his  small  hands. 

In  one  of  the  ice-months  of  the  year,  when 
the  weather  was  sharper  than  a  serpent's 
tooth,  Thule  came  home  from  a  hard  day's 
work ;  and,  the  chillier  he  grew,  the  more  he 


THE  ELF   OF  LIGHT.  119 

whistled  to  keep  up  a  brave  heart.  Looking 
at  the  horizon  before  him,  he  saw  the  cold 
glare  which  Ave  call  Northern  Lights,  but 
which  he  knew  to  be  the  flickering  of  hel- 
mets and  shields  and  spears. 

"  The  warlike  maidens  are  out  to-night," 
thought  the  boy :  ^Hhey  are  going  to  the  bat- 
tle-fields to  decide  who  is  worthy  to  be  slain. 
How  I  love  to  see  the  sky  lighted  up  with 
the  flash  of  their  armor !  Odin,  grant  I  may 
one  day  be  a  hero,  and  walk  over  the  bridge 
of  a  rainbow  !  " 

Then  Thule  went  to  his  whistling  again; 
but,  just  as  he  struck  into  the  forest  where , 
the  deep  shadows  lay,  he  heard  a  faint  moan, 
which  sounded  like  a  human  voice,  or  might 
have  been  a  sudden  gust  of  wind  in  a  hoUow 
tree. 

*^  Perchance  it  is  some  poor  creature  even 
colder  than  I,"  thought  the  boy :  *^  I  hope  not 
Q.  troll!'' 


120  FAIRY  BOOK. 

Hurrying  to  tlie  spot  Avhence  tlie  sound 
came,  lie  found  an  ugly,  long-nosed  dwarf  ly- 
ing on  the  ground,  nearly  perishing  Avith 
cold.  It  was  growing  late,  and  the  boy  him- 
self was  benumbed ;  but  he  went  briskly  to 
work,  chafing  the  hands  and  face  of  the 
stranger,  even  taking  off  his  own  blue  jacket 
to  wrap  it  about  the  dwarfs  neck. 

'^  Poor  old  soul,  you  shall  not  die  of  cold  !  ^' 
said  he  5  then,  helping  him  to  rise,  he  added 
cheerily,  ^'  We  will  go  to  my  mother's  cot- 
tage, and  have  a  warm  supper  of  oat-cakes 
and  herrings ;  and  our  fire  of  dry  boughs  will 
do  you  good.^' 

The  noble  boy  knew  there  was  barely  sup- 
per enough  for  two,  but  did  not  mind  going 
hungry  to  bed  for  charity's  sake.  In  the  ear 
of  his  heart,  he  heard  the  words  of  his 
mother :  — 

"Never  fear  starving,  my  son,  but  freely 
share  your  last  loaf  with  the  needy." 


THE   ELF   OF   LIGHT.  121 

They  walked  through  the  forest,  the  old 
man  leaning  heavily  on  the  youth's  shoulder. 

"  "Why  should  you  befriend  a  poor  wretch 
who  cannot  repay  you  ? "  whined  the  dwarf 
in  a  hollow  voice  which  startled  Thule,  it  was 
so  like  the  echo  sent  back  by  a  mountain  or  a 
rock. 

^'  I  do  not  ask  or  wish  to  be  repaid/''  Avas- 
the  reply.  ''Don't  you  know  what  the  prov- 
erb says  ?  '  Do  good,  and  throw  it  into  the 
sea  ;  if  the  fishes  don't  know  it,  Odin  will ! '  " 

''  Yes :  Odin  shall  know  it,  never  fear,"  an- 
swered the  dwarf;  ''but,  as  I  happen  to  be 
informed  that  your  tea-table  is  not  quite  large 
enough  for  three,  I  think  I  will  dechne  your 
invitation  to  supper.  Really,  my  lad,'^  he 
continued,  "  it  would  delight  me  to  do  you  a 
httle  favor;  for,  though  I  am  only  a  poor 
dwarf,  I  knoAv  how  to  be  grateful.  By  the 
way,  have  you  seen  such  a  thing  hereabouts 
as  a  green  alder-tree  ?  '^ 


122  •      FAIRY  BOOK. 

^'  A  green  alder-tree  in  winter-time  I  ^'  cried 
Thule. 

^^  A  curious  thing,  indeed/'  said  the  dwarf; 
^'  but  I  chanced  to  see  one  the  other  night  in 
my  rambles.  Ah!  look,  here  it  is  right  be- 
fore your  eyes." 

All  the  other  forest-trees  were  dry  and 
hard,  their  hearts  frozen  within  them;  but 
this  tree  was  alive,  hidden  behind  a  clump  of 
firs.  When  Thule  began  to  dig  about  its 
roots,  it  seemed  to  come  out  of  the  ground 
of  its  own  free  will,  and  to  lie  over  his  shoul- 
ders as  if  it  would  caress  him. 

^'  Take  home  the  little  tree,  and  plant  it  be- 
fore your  door,  my  lad." 

The  youth  turned  to  thank  the  stranger; 
but  he  had  vanished.  Then  Thule  ran  home 
with  all  speed  to  tell  his  mother  of  the  little 
old  man  who  had  faded  from  his  sight  like  a 
wreath  of  smoke. 


THE  ELF   OF  LIGHT.  123 

**  Now  I  wonder  what  it  is  you  have  seen/' 
said  the  good  woman,  raising  her  "hands  in 
surprise.  '^Was  he  brown,  my  son,  with  a 
long  nose  ? '' 

"  As  brown  as  a  nut,  mother,  with  no  end 
of  nose.'' 

^^  Just  as  I  supposed,  my  child !  That 
dwarf  is  a  wonderful  creature,  —  one  of  the 
night-elves,  a  race  gifted  with  great  under- 
standing. Know,  my  son,  that  he  carves 
runes  upon  stones ;  and  he  no  doubt  assisted 
in  making  Thor's  hammer,  that  terrible  in- 
strument which  can  crush  the  skull  of  a 
giant." 

"  One  thing  I  observed,"  said  the  boy :  ''he 
blinked  at  that  flashing  in  the  sky,  which  peo- 
ple call  Northern  Lights ;  he  had  to  shade  his 
eyes  with  his  funny  little  hand." 

"  Did  he,  indeed  ?  Poor  Elf  !  Light  is  pain- 
ful to  his  race ;  and  I  have  even  heard  that 


124  FAIRY  BOOK. 

a  stroke  of  sunsldne  is  able  to  turn  tliem  into 
stones.  I  am  almost  afraid  of  this  little  tree/'' 
added  the  good  mother  musingly.  ^'  Yon 
know  what  we  read  in  the  holy  Eddas  :  Both 
the  alder  and  the  ash  trees  should  be  held  sa- 
cred ;  for  Odin  formed  man  from  the  ash,  and 
woman  from  the  alder.  Nevertheless,  the 
night-elf  could  not  have  meant  to  do  you  a 
mischief.  Let  us  plant  the  tree  as  he  di- 
rected." 

^^What,  in  the  frozen  ground,  under  the 
snow  ?  " 

But  it  now,  for  the  first  time,  appeared  that 
there  was  a  spot  -of  earth  near  the  south 
window,  which  must  have  been  waiting  for 
the  tree,  since  it  was  as  soft  and  warm  as  if 
the  sun  had  been  shining  on  it  all  the  year. 
Here  they  planted  the  alder  ;  and  Thule 
brought  water,  and  moistened  the  roots. 

Next  morning  the  tree   seemed  to  have 


THE  ELF  OF  LIGHT.  125 

grown  a  foot  higher;  and  by  daylight  its 
leaves   showed  a  silver  lining. 

^^May  Odin  favor  my  pretty  alder!"  said 
Thule ;  ^'  nor  let  the  frost  pinch  it,  nor  the 
winds  blacken  its  green  buds  !  " 

Thule  went  into  the  woods  again ;  and,  as 
he  was  whistling  at  his  work,  he  happened  to 
look  down,  and  there,  on  the  ground,  at  his 
feet,  lay  a  purse,  well  lined  with  gold.  He 
counted  the  pieces  :  fifty,  all  bright  and  new. 

'^  I  will  go  to  the  town,"  thought  the  boy, 
shaking  his  head  and  sighing  (for  the  gold 
was  very  tempting),  ''  I  will  go  to  the  town, 
and  ask  who  has  lost  a  purse  with  fifty  pieces 
of  precious  gold.  Ah,  me  !  I  wish  I  could 
keep  it ! "  then  we  should  swim  in  herrings 
and  oil ;  and  who  knows  but,  for  once  in  my 
life,  I  might  even  get  a  taste  of  venison  ?  " 

But  next  moment  he  loosened  his  greedy 
clutch  at  the  purse.     '^  No  matter  how  brave- 


126  FAIRY  BOOK. 

ly  it  shines !  it  is  not  my  gold ;  and  it  is  too 
heavy  for  me  to  carry.  Stolen  money  is 
worse  than  a  mill-stone  about  one's  neck,  so 
my  mother  says." 

^'  Keep  the  purse,  little  boy,"  said  a  sweet 
voice  close  by  his  elbow.  He  turned,  and 
saw  a  beautiful  child,  as  radiant  as  a  sun- 
beam, and  clad  in  garments  of  delicate  and 
transparent  texture. 

"  I  will  be  your  friend,  little  boy.  That 
purse  was  dropped  by  a  lady  who  wears  a  fur 
cloak  and  long  veil.  If  she  asks  for  her 
treasure,  I  can  say  it  fell  into  a  hole  in  the 
ground.  Everybody  believes  me  :  never 
fear ! " 

"  Poor  misguided  angel ! "  said  the  boy, 
amazed  by  her  wondrous  beauty  no  less  than 
by  her  apparent  want  of  truth.  "  You  are, 
indeed,  a  lovely  little  tempter ;  but  I  have  a 
dear  mother  at  home,  and  I  love  her  better 


THE  ELF   OF  LIGHT.  127 

than  a  million  pieces  of  gold.  I  must  go  to 
the  town,  and  seek  out  this  lady  you  mention, 
who  wears  a  fur  cloak  and  long  veil." 

"  Nay,  if  you  will  be  so  stupid/'  said  the 
shining  child,  ''  why,  I  will  even  go  with  you, 
and  show  you  the  way." 

So,  gliding  gracefully  before  the  bewil- 
dered youth,  she  led  him  out  of  the  forest,  in- 
to the  most  crowded  part  of  the  city,  up  to 
the  door  of  a  splendid  mansion  ;  but,  when 
Thule  turned  his  head  only  an  instant,  she 
was  gone,  and  no  trace  of  her  was  to  be 
seen :  she  seemed  to  have  melted  into  sun- 
shine. 

The  lady  of  the  house  received  the  purse 
with  thanks,  and  would  gladly  have  given 
Thule  a  piece  of  the  gold ;  but,  much  as  the 
boy  longed  for  it,  he  put  it  aside,  saying, 
"  Xo,  madam :  my  mother  assures  me  I  must 
be  honest  without  the  hope  of  reward.     She 


128  FAIRY  BOOK. 

would  not  like  me  to  take  wages  for  not  be- 
ing a  thief!  '^ 

The  next  morning  the  alder-tree  had  grown 
another  foot  ]  and  Thule  and  his  mother 
watched  the  growii?^'  leaves,  and  touched 
them  with  reverent  fingers.  They  were  cer- 
tainly of  a  tender  green,  lined  with  shining 
silver. 

^^  May  Odin  favor  my  pretty  alder ! "  said 
Thule ;  '^  nor  let  the  frost  pinch  it,  nor  the 
winds  blacken. its  green  buds  !'' 

Then  Thule  kissed  his  mother,  and  trudged 
off  to  the  forest  as  usual.  But  he  seemed 
doomed  to  adventures  ;  for  this  time  he  was 
met  by  three  armed  men,  who  were  roaming 
the  country  as  if  seeking  something. 

"  Prithee,  little  urchin,"  said  one  of  the 
men,  "  can  you  tell  us  what  has  become  of  a 
young  alder-tree,  whose  green  leaves  are 
lined  with  silver  ?  " 


THE  ELF   OF   LIGHT.  129 

*^  I  dug  up  an  alder-bush,  kind  sirs/*'  re- 
plied the  boy,  trembling,  and  remembering 
that  his  mother  had  said  she  was  almost 
afraid  of  that  little  tree. 

"  There  are  many  alder-bushes,''  said  an- 
other of  the  men  gruffly ;  ''  but  only  one  is 
green  at  this  time  of  year,  and  has  silver- 
lined  leaves.  It  was  j^laced  here  by  com- 
mand of  the  giant  Loki,  and  no  one  was  to 
touch  it  under  pain  of  death ;  for,  when  his 
mountain-garden  should  be  laid  out  in  the 
spring,  the  tree  was  to  be  uprooted,  and 
planted  therein." 

Thule  grew  almost  as  stiff  and  white  as  if 
a  frost-giant  had  suddenly  breathed  on  him. 
He  knew  that  Loki  was  a  pitiless  god,  feared 
by  all,  and  beloved  by  none,  —  a  god  who 
had  an  especial  grudge  against  the  whole  hu- 
man race. 

"I  will   hold   my  peace,"   thought    Thule. 


130  FAIRY  BOOK. 

"  I  will  never  confess  that  the  tree  I  carried 
away  has  silver-lined  leaves.  I  will  hasten 
home,  pluck  np  the  bush,  and  burn  it :  then 
who  will  be  the  wiser?  " 

But  Thule,  in  spite  of  his  trembling,  could 
not  forget  his  good  mother's  counsel :  — 

''  Your  words,  my  boy,  let  them  be  truth, 
and  nothing  but  truth,  though  a  sword  should 
be  swinging  over  your  head." 

Then,  as  soon  as  his  voice  returned  to  him, 
he  confessed  that  the  tree  he  had  removed 
was  really  just  such  an  one  as  the  men  de- 
scribed, and  begged  for  mercy,  because,  as 
he  said,  he  had  committed  the  sin  ignorantly, 
not  knowing  the  mandate  of  the  terrible 
giant. 

But  the  men  bade  Thule  lead  them  to  his 
mother's  house,  and  point  out  his  stolen  treas- 
ure ;  declaring  that  they  could  show  no  mer- 
cy ;  for,  when  Loki  had  made  a  decree,  no 
man  should  alter  it  by  one  jot  or  one  tittle. 


THE  ELF   OF  LIGHT.  131 

''  Oh ! "  thought  the  unfortunate  boy,  wring- 
ing his  hands,  and  trembhng  till  the  woollen 
tassel  on  his  cap  danced  a  gallopade,  '^  oh,  if 
the  cruel  night-elf,  who  led  me  into  this  mis- 
chief, would  only  come  forward  now,  and  help 
me  out  of  it !  But,  alas,  it  is  of  no  avail  to 
invoke  him ;  for  it  is  now  broad  daylight, 
and  the  sun  would  strike  him  into  a  stone  im- 
age in  a  twinkhng." 

When  Thule,  followed  by  the  messengers 
of  Loki,  had  reached  the  door  of  his  cottage, 
he  found  his  gray-haired  mother  sprinkling 
the  roots  of  the  beautiful  alder,  and  fondling 
its  leaves  with  innocent  pleasure.  At  sight 
of  the  armed  men,  she  started  back  in  af- 
fright. 

^^It  is  indeed  the  giant's  tree,"  said  the 
men  to  Thule.  ''  Pluck  it  up,  and  foUow  us 
with  it  to  Loki's  castle  on  the  mountain." 

"  To  Loki's  castle  I "  shrieked  the  wretched 


132  FAIRY   BOOK. 

mother.  '^  Then  he  must  pass  a  frightful  wil- 
derness, be  assailed  by  the  frost-giants ;  and, 
if  there  be  any  breath  left  in  him,  Loki  will 
dash  it  out  at  a  glance  !  Have  mercy  on  a 
poor  old  mother,  0  good  soldiers  ! '' 

The  unhappy  boy  touched  the  tree,  and  it 
came  out  of  the  ground  of  its  own  free  will ; 
and,  in  a  trice,  stood  on  its  feet,  shook  out  its 
branches  into  arms,  and  in  another  moment 
was  no  longer  a  tree,  but  a  child,  with  a 
bpauty  as  dazzling  as  sunshine. 

^'Unfortunate  men!''  said  she,  in.  a  voice 
whose  angriest  tones  were  sweeter  than  the 
music  of  an  ^Eolian  harp,  "  unfortunate  are 
you  in  being  the  servants  of  Loki !  Go,  tell 
your  cruel  master  that  the  schemes  he  has 
plotted  against  me  and  mine  have  all  failed : 
my  enchantment  is  over  forever.  Yonder 
boy,"  said  she,  pointing  to  little  Thule,  '^  has 
saved  me.     I  was,  and  still  remain,  an  elf  of 


THE  ELF   OP  LIGHT.  133 

light,  as  playful  and  harmless  as  sunshine. 
The  merciless  Loki,  enraged  at  the  love  I 
bear  the  children  of  men,  changed  me  to  a 
httle  alder-tree,  which  is  the  emblem  of  girl- 
hood. But  he  had  no  power  to  keep  me  in 
that  form  forever.  He  was  obliged  to  make 
a  condition,  and  he  made  the  hardest  one  that 
his  artful  mind  could  invent :  *  Since  you  love 
mortals  so  dearly,'  said  he,  ^  no  one  but  a  mor- 
tal shall  free  you  from  your  imprisonment. 
You  shall  remain  a  tree  till  a  good  child  shall 
touch  you, — a  child  who  is  generous  enough 

to    SHARE    HIS    LAST    LOAF    WITH    A    STRANGER, 

honest  enough  to  give  back  a  reward  for 
HIS   HOXESTY,   brave    enough   to    speak    the 

TRUTH    when    a    LIE    WOULD    HAVE    SAVED    HIS 

LIFE.  Long  shall  you  wait  for  such  a  deliv- 
erer !  ^ 

"  Now   how   amazed   will    Loki   be  when 

he    learns    that    this    little    boy    has  been 


134  FAIRY   BOOK. 

tempted  in  all  these  particulars,  yet  proves 
true.  My  poor  soldiers,  you  may  return 
whence  you  came,  for  the  alder-tree  will 
never  rustle  its  silver  leaves  in  the  moun- 
tain-garden of  Loki." 

Then  the  men  disappeared,  not  sorry  that 
the  good  boy  had  escaped  his  threatened 
doom. 

Thule,  looking  at  the  beautiful  elf  so  lately 
a  tree,  could  hardly  trust  his  own  eyes  ;  and 
I  fancy  that  many  a  boy,  even  at  the  present 
day,  would  have  felt  rather  bewildered  under 
the  circumstances. 

^^ Shining. child!"  said  he:  "you  look  vastly 
like  the  wonderful  little  being  who  led  me 
out  of  the  forest  yesterday.'' 

"  That  may  well  be,"  replied  the  elf  of 
light ;  "  for  she  is  my  sister.  The  brown 
dwarf  who  pointed  out  to  you  the  alder-tree 


THE   ELF    OF   LIGHT.  135 

is  also  an  excellent  friend  of  mine,  though, 
strange  to  say,  I  have  never  seen  him.  TVe 
love  to  aid  each  other  in  all  possible  Tvays ; 
yet  we  can  never  meet,  for  there  is  a  fatality 
in  my  eyes  which  would  strike  him  dead. 
He  had  heard  of  Thule,  the  little  woodcutter 
who  was  called  so  brave  and  generous  and 
true.  He  tried  you,  you  see  ;  and  so  did  my 
frolicsome  sister,  who  was  fairly  ablaze  with 
delight  when  she  found  you  could  not  be 
tempted  to  steal !  " 

Thule's  mother  had  stood  all  the  while  on 
the  threshold,  overawed  and  dumb.  Now 
she  came  forward,  and  said, — 

'^  I  am  prouder  to-day  than  I  should  be  if 
my  son  had  slain  ten  men  on  the  battle- 
field ! '' 

The  beautiful  elf  of  light,  penetrated  with 
gratitude  and  admiration,  remained   Thule's 


136  FAIRY   BOOK. 

fast  friend  as  long  as  he  lived.  She  gave 
the  lad  and  his  mother  an  excellent  home, 
and  made  them  happy  all  the  days  of  their 
lives. 


THE  PEINCESS  HILDA.  137 


THE    PRINCESS   HILDA. 

Princess  Hildegarde  sat  at  an  open  win- 
dow, looking  out  upon  her  garden  of  flowers. 
She  was  very  beautiful,  with  a  face  as  fair 
and  sweet  as  a  rose.  Not  far  off  sat,  watching 
her,  her  young  cousin  Zora,  with  a  frown  on 
her  brow. 

There  was  bitter  hatred  in  Zora's  heart  be- 
cause Hildegarde  was  rich  and  she  was  poor ; 
because  Hildegarde  would,  in  time,  be  a 
queen,  and  she  one  of  her  subjects.  More- 
over, Hildegarde  was  so  beautiful  and  good 
that  the  fame  of  her  loveliness  had  spread  far 
and  wide  ;  and  it  was  for  her  beauty  that 
Zora  hated  her  more  than  for  any  thing  else. 


138  FAIRY  BOOK. 

In  childhood  Zora  had  been  very  fair ;  and 
the  courtiers  had  petted  her,  and  pronounced 
her  even  fairer  than  the  princess  ;  but  her 
beauty  had  never  meant  any  thing  but  bright 
eyes  and  cherry  cheeks :  so  it  could  not  last. 
If  she  had  only  cherished  pure  thoughts  and 
kind  wishes,  she  might  still  have  been  as 
lovely  as  Hilda ;  but  who  does  not  know  that 
evil  feelings  write  themselves  on  the  face  ? 

Jealousy  had  puhed  her  mouth  down  at 
the  corners;  deceit  had  given  it  a  foolish 
smirk;  spite  had  plowed  an  ugly  frown  in 
her  brow ;  while  she  had  tried  so  many  arts 
to  make  her  rich  brown  skin  as  delicately 
white  as  Hilda's,  that  it  was  changed  to  the 
tint  of  chrome  yellow. 

It  was  said  in  those  days,  that  Zora  was  in 
the  power  of  wicked  fairies,  who  twisted  her 
features  into  the  shape  that  pleased  them 
best. 


THE   PEINCESS   HILDA.  139 

At  any  rate,  how  the  amiable  Princess 
Hilda  was  to  blame  for  all  these  deformities 
it  would  be  hard  to  say  ;  and  she  little 
dreamed  of  the  malice  in  her  cousin's  heart. 

But,  while  Hilda  was  looking  out  of  the 
window,  a  noble  knight  passed  that  way ;  and 
so  delighted  was  he  with  the  rare  sweetness 
of  her  face,  that  he  forgot  himself,  and 
paused  a  moment  to  gaze  at  her.  The  prin- 
cess blushed,  and  let  fall  the  silken  curtain ; 
but  Zora  had  seen  the  knight,  and  knew  he 
was  the  royal  Prince  Reginald.  She  ground 
her  teeth  in  rage ;  for  she  had  determined 
that  the  prince  should  never  see  her  beauti- 
ful cousin.  • 

"  They  shall  not  meet,"  said  she  to  herself: 
^'  no,  not  if  there  are  bad  fairies  enough  to 
prevent  it." 

But,  when  the  princess  looked  up,  Zora 
was  smiling  very  sweetly.     Who  could  have 


140  FAIRY  BOOK. 

dreamed  that  she  was  thinking  of  nothing 
but  how  to  ruin  the  peace  of  her  gentle 
cousin? 

Zora  could  hardly  wait  for  nightfall,  so 
eager  was  she  to  do  her  wicked  work.  When 
it  was  dark,  and  all  was  quiet,  she  stole  out 
of  the  castle,  wearing  a  black  mantle  which 
hid  her  face. 

^'  Now,"  thought  she,  "  no  one  can  recog- 
nize me,  and  I  will  seek  the  fairy  Gerula." ' 

You  must  know  that  Gerula  was  one  of 
the  most  wicked  and  hideous  sprites  that 
ever  existed.  She  dwelt  in  a  cave  far  from 
the  abodes  of  men.  It  was  hidden  by  huge 
tree%  through  which  the  wind  never  ceased 
howling.  At  evening  owls  hooted  overhead, 
and  many  creeping  things  wound  their 
length  along  the  ground.  The  more  toads 
and  snakes  she  could  see  about  her,  the  bet- 
ter was  she  pleased ;    for  fairies,  as  well  as 


THE   PRINCESS   HILDA.  141 

mortals,  are  attracted  hy  what  is  akin  to 
tliemselves. 

Slie  was  descended  from  a  race'  called  ko- 
bolds  or  goblins  ;  and  she  loved  all  the  metals 
which  lie  under  the  earth  as  well  as  the  liv- 
ing things  which  crawl  up  out  of  its  bosom. 

So  acute  were  her  ears,  that  she  heard 
Zora's  steps  from  a  great  distance.  She 
brushed  back  her  elf-locks,  and  gave  a  low 
grunt  like  some  wild  beast.  It  pleased  her 
that  the  Lady  Zora  should  find  need  of  her 
counsel;  but,  when  Zora  had  reached  the 
cave,  the  cunning  fairy  pretended  to  be  sleep- 
ing, and  started  up  in  seeming  surprise. 

''  What  brings  a  body  here  at  this  time  of 
night?"  said  she. 

"  I  am  Lady  Zora.  I  have  come,  sweet 
fairy,  to  beg  a  favor.  The  Princess  Hilda  is 
hateful  to  me :  work  one  of  your  charms  on 
her,  and  let  me  see  her  face  no  more." 


142  FAIRY  BOOK. 

The  old  fairy  pricked  up  her  ears  and  said 
to  herself,  ^'  Ha !  ha !  I  will  have  nice  sport 
out  o'  this ! "  then  said  aloud,  "  Say,  what 
harm  has  the  princess  done  to  my  rosebud, 
my  lily,  my  pride  ?  " 

Zora's  eyes  flashed.  "  Prince  Reginald  has 
seen  her ;  and  to  see  her  is  to  love  her.  My 
heart  is  set  on  wedding  Prince  Reginald. 
Take  her  out  of  his  way  !  " 

Just  then  a  broad  gleam  of  moonlight  fell 
on  the  treacherous  maiden.  It  was  strange 
how  much  she  looked  like  the  cruel  fairy  ; 
and  Gerula  gazed  on  her  with  delight. 

"  My  beautiful  viper  !  "  said  she,  using  the 
sweetest  pet-name  she  could  think  of,  '^  I  will 
do  your  bidding.  But  first  say  what  you  will 
give  me  if  I  put  Hildegarde  out  of  your 
way.'' 

Then  she  chuckled,  and  rubbed  her  hands 
in  great  glee.     Zora  started  back  in  alarm. 


THE   PRINCESS   HILDA.  143 

*^  I  did  not  know  you  sold  your  charms  for 
gold ;  but  I  would  give  you  half  my  fortune 
if  need  be,  any  thing,  to  be  rid  of  Hilda." 

The  fairy  chuckled  again.  ''  Just  the  dam- 
sel for  me/'  thought  she. 

''  I  will  give  you  a  diamond  necklace/'  said 
Zora  :  '^  it  is  worth  a  small  kingdom,  and  was 
given  me  by  my  cousin  Hilda.  You  can 
surely  ask  no  more  ?  " 

''  Diamonds  !  "  said  the  goblin,  snapping 
her  fingers.  '^  What  think  you  I  care  for 
them  ?  Do  I  not  tire  of  stooping  to  pick 
them  up  ?  for  they  are  given  me  by  my 
cousins,  the  gnomes,  any  day.  No  diamonds 
for  me  !  Keep  them  and  your  gold.  I  ask 
but  one  thing,  my  dear." 

Here  she  spoke  in  low  hissing  tones,  more 
terrible  than  her  loudest  croakings. 

"  Promise  me,  if  you  do  not  marry  Prince 


144  FAIRY   BOOK. 

Eeginald,  you  will  let  me  change  you  into  a 
charming  green  snake." 

*'  Alas  !  "  cried  Zora,  turning  pale,  '^  who 
ever  heard  of  such  a  cruel  request  ?  " 

"  Cruel,  am  I  ?  "  said  the  goblin  in  delight. 
"  Oh,  I  must  seem  cruel  to  one  who  is  so 
gentle  and  lovely  as  Hilda  !  " 

"  Alas,"  cried  Zora,  '^  I  may  fail  to  win 
Prince  Reginald." 

"  All  the  better,"  chuckled  the  fairy. 
'^  When  you  become  a  snake,  you  and  I  shall 
enjoy  each  other's  society,  I  assure  you." 

Zora  shuddered. 

'^  But  it's  all  one  to  me,"  added  the  goblin, 
beginning  to  yawn.  '^  On  the  whole,  I  think 
you  may  as  well  go  home." 

Zora  wrung  her  hands,  and  groaned. 

''  Yes,"  said  the  gnome :  "  go  back  to  the 
castle.  Ugh !  I  would  sooner  trust  one  of 
my  winking  owls  to  do  a  daring  deed  than 


THE   PRINCESS   HILDA.  145 

you  I  Fie  upon  you !  Creep  back  to  your 
bed,  and  let  Hilda  marry  the  prince :  a 
lovely  pair  they  will  make.  Off  with  you, 
for  I  have  to  make  up  my  sleep  I  have 
lost." 

But  Zora  was  thinking. 

''  I  am  silly  indeed ! "  she  said  to  herself. 
**  Why  do  I  fear  that  I  shall  not  win  the  love 
of  Prince  Reginald?  Only  Hilda  stands  in 
my  way."     Then  she  said  aloud^  — 

''  Lovely  being  !  sweetest  of  all  the  race ! 
Great  as  is  my  horror,  I  will  consent  to  your 
wiU." 

Just  then  was  heard  a  crackling  in  the  dry 
leaves. 

"  Only  a  snake,"  said  the  goblin.  Zora 
trembled. 

'^  Will  you  promise  me  that  Hilda  will 
never  trouble  me  again  ?  " 

''  I  promise,"  said  the  goblin,  with  one  of 

10 


146  FAIRY  BOOK. 

her  merriest  laughs^  as  loud  and  hoarse  as 
the  song  of  a  frog. 

Just  then  a  sigh  was  heard  not  far  from  the 
place  where  Zora  stood.  ^'  There  is  some 
one  here :  we  are  watched/''  she  whispered. 
But  Gerula  thought  it  the  howling  of  the 
wind  ;  for  she  was  busily  musing  over  the 
charm  she  was  about  to  obtain  of  her  cousins, 
the  gnomes,  and  her  eyes  and  ears  were  not 
as  sharp  as  usual. 

She  took  from  the  ground  her  crooked  staff. 

^' Hush/'  said  she  ;  "if  the  sky  were  to  fall 
on  your  head,  you  are  not  to  speak ;  for  now 
begins  the  charm." 

Then  she  drew  a  circle  three  times  on  the 
ground,  with  her  staff,  and  said  in  low  tones,  — 

"  Hither,  ye  cousins,  that  come  at  my  call : 
The  princess  is  young  and  fair  ; 
IVIix  me  a  charm  that  shall  bring  her  to  woe 
Spin  me  your  vilest  snare." 


THE  PRINCESS  HILDA.  147 

A  mist  arose,  in  whicli  Zora  could  see  dim 
figures,  one  after  another.  Zora  held  her 
breath.  Gerula  muttered  again  in  low 
tones,  — 

"  Hilda  is  gentle,  and  dreams  of  no  guile  ; 

The  little  gnomes  sit  and  weep  ; 
*  Make  her,  —  if  must  be,  —  a  snowy  wee  lamb, 

In  the  fold  with  her  father's  sheep.'  '* 

Zora  clapped  her  hands  in  delight.  But 
just  then,  a  faint  sound  was  heard,  as  of  some 
one  talking  between  the  teeth.  Then  Zora 
spoke,  and  the  charm  was  broken.  She  did 
not  intend  to  speak;  but  asked,  ^' What  noise 
was  that  ?  "  before  she  thought. 

"  You  have  broken  the  charm,"  said  the 
fairy.  ''The  soft-hearted  gnomes  are  unwill- 
ing to  punish  Hilda;  but  I  hoped,  by  my 
craft,  I  could  force  them  to  keep  her  a  lamb 
forever;  or,  at  most,  to  let  her  grow  to  a 
sheep,  and  die  by  the  knife. 


148  FAIRY   BOOK. 

^^1  will  now  weave  a  new  charm;  but  I 
fear  me  they  will  repent ;  and  Hilda  will 
not  be  got  out  of  the  way,  after  all.  Not 
a  word  more,  I  warn  you." 

So  saying,  the  goblin  made  another  circle 
three  time|^  on  the  ground,  and  again  mut- 
tered,— 

"  How  long  is  fair  Hilda  a  snowy  wee  lamb  ? 
The  little  gnomes  cry,  '  "We  fear 
Till  comes  a  brave  lion  so  tender  and  true, 
She  lives  by  his  side  a  year.'  " 

Zora  clapped  her  hands  again.  '^  That  is 
well,"  said  she,  ''  for  never  was  a  lion  seen 
who  could  let  a  little  helpless  lamb  pass  his 
way  without  tearing  it  in  pieces." 

"  True,"  said  the  gnome,  well  pleased,  ^'  it 
has  worked  well.  Hilda  will  never  trouble 
you  again :  so  creep  home  softly,  and  go  to 
your    rest :    dream    of   bats    and    creeping 


THE   PRI^SXESS    HILDA.  149 

snakes ;  and  to-morrow,  at  sunrise,  ask  your 
cousin  to  walk  with  you  in  the  park.  Now 
adieu !  '^ 

"  Adieu,  sweetest  and  best  of  fairies  !  "  said 
Zora,  drawing  her  silken  mantle  closely  about 
her  face.  As  she  left  the  hideous  cave, 
snakes  hissed  after  her,  and  a  bat  flew  in  her 
face ;  but  she  had  sold  herself  to  evil,  and 
walked  on  without  fear  of  the  creatures  she 
so  strongly  resembled. 

Next  morning,  at  the  first  peep  of  the  sun, 
she  cried,  ''  Awake,  dearest  Hilda,  joy  of  my 
life,  and  walk  with  me  in  the  park.  I  have 
lost  my  diamond  necklace ;  and  last  night  I 
dreamed  it  was  lying  in  the  grass." 

So  Princess  Hildegarde  opened  her  eyes, 
and  hastened  to  follow  her  cousin;  for  her 
heart  was  quickly  moved  to  any  act  of  kind- 
ness. 

'^  What  a  fine  flock  of  sheep  ! "  cried  Hilda, 


150  FAIRY  BOOK. 

as  they  were  walking  in  the  park.  "  Such 
innocent " 

She  would  have  said  more,  but  the  words 
on  her  tongue  were  suddenly  changed  to  ten- 
der bleatings ;  and  even  as  Zora  stood  look- 
ing at  her,  she  crouched  down  on  all  fours, 
dwindled  in  size,  was  enveloped  in  white 
fleece,  and  became  a  dumb  lamb. 

Overwhelmed  with  horror  and  surprise, 
she  raised  her  pleading,  tearful  eyes  to  the 
face  of  her  cousin.  But  Zora  gave  a  mock- 
ing laugh,  and  said,  pointing  her  finger  at 
her,  — 

"  Who  now  is  the  heir  of  the  throne  ?  Will 
they  set  the  royal  crown  on  a'  sheep's  head, 
think  you  ?  Bravo,  sweet  creature !  You 
may  stand  now  between  me  and  Prince  Regi- 
nald as  much  as  you  please.  It's  all  my 
work.  I  tell  you  once  for  all,  I  hate  you,  Hil- 
degarde.'' 


THE  PRINCESS  HILDA.  151 

"Was  this  Zora's  return  for  her  coiisin's 
love  ?  The  princess  would  fain  have  ex- 
pressed her  grief  and  amazement. 

*'Pray  don't  try  to  talk,  my  bonny  wee 
thing!  It  is  not  one  of  your  gifts,  at  pres- 
ent. Your  voice  has  ceased  to  be  musical. 
I  can  sing  now  as  well  as  you.  Go  to  nib- 
bhng  grass,  deary,  and  a  long  life  to  you ! " 

Then  the  treacherous  Zora  turned  on  her 
heel,  and  left  her  poor  cousin  to  her  mute 
despair. 

A  search  was  made  far  and  wide  for  the 
missing  princess.  Forests  were  hunted, 
rivers  were  dragged  ;  but  without  avail. 
Deep  gloom  fell  on  the  people,  and  the  queen 
nearly  died  of  sorrow.  They  all  believed 
Hilda  dead,  all  but  Zora,  who  knew  too  well 
her  cruel  fate. 

Then  Zora  was  treated  like  the  king's 
daughter.  Wherever  she  went,  there  were  ser- 


152  FAIRY  BOOK. 

Yants  to  follow  her  ;  yet  none  loved  her,  and 
behind  her  back  they  made  wry  faces,  and 
said  she  looked  like  one  who  was  tormented 
by  evil  fairies. 

But,  alas  for  Zora,  nothing  more  was  seen 
of  Prince  Reginald.  She  watched  the  win- 
dows day  after  day,  hoping  to  see  him  ride 
by  qn  his  coal-black  steed  ;  but  he  never 
came.  Then  she  grew  crosser  than  ever,  and 
the  frown  on  her  brow  ploughed  deeper  still. 
She  dreamed  every  night  of  horrible  goblins 
and  slender  green  snakes. 

All  the  while,  poor  Hildegarde  roamed 
about  the  park.  The  other  lambs  were  con- 
tent to  nip  the  sweet  grass,  and  frisk  in  the 
sun ;  but  the  princess  remembered  something 
better,  for  her  soul  did  not  sleep. 

The  king  himself,  in  his  walks,  was  struck 
with  the  beauty  of  the  lamb ;  its  fleece  was 
far  softer,  finer,  and  whiter  than  was  common. 


!rHE  PRINCESS  HILDA.  153 

He  said  to  his  chief  shepherd,  '^  Watch  well 
yonder  snow-white  lamb,  and  give  it  particu- 
lar care.'' 

For  there  was  something  in  its  soft  dark 
eyes,  as  they  were  raised  to  his  face,  which 
stirred  the  king's  heart,  though  he  knew  not 
why. 

One  day  the  city  was  thrown  into  a  great 
tumult.  A  lion  had  been  seen  in  the  thicket 
which  bordered  the  park.  The  huntsmen, 
hearing  of  it,  stole  out  privately  to  waylay 
him  in  a  snare.  He  was  caught  alive  by  the 
king's  favorite  huntsman.  It  was  agreed 
that  such  a  fine  lion  had  never  been  seen  be- 
fore ;  and  the  king  ordered  a  strong  iron 
cage  for  the  beast,  and  made  his  favorite 
huntsman  his  keeper. 

.  Now  the  cage  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
park ;  and  such  was  the  terror  of  the  sheep 
and  deer,  that  none  of  them  went  near  it. 


154  FAIRY  BOOK.  , 

^'  I  will  go,"  thoTiglit  poor  Hildegarde  ;  ^'  let 
the  lion  tear  me  in  pieces.  Sooner  would  I 
perish,  than  live  on,  a  poor  wee  lamb  all  my 
days." 

So  she  went  up  to  the  cage,  though  with  a 
faint  heart ;  but  the  lion  put  his  paw  out  of 
the  bars,  and  stroked  her  face,  as  if  he  would 
bid  her  welcome.  The  keeper  reported  the 
fact  with  great  surprise. 

It  may  be  that  the  beautiful  brown  eyes  of 
the  lamb  tamed  the  fierce  spirit  of  the  lion ; 
for  they  were  human  eyes,  full  of  Hilde- 
garde's  own  soul.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the 
lamb  went  every  day  to  the  cage,  till  the  lion 
learned  to  watch  for  her,  and  gave  a  low 
growl  of  joy  when  he  saw  her  coming.  At 
last  the  keeper  ventured  to  drop  her  care- 
fully into  the  cage.  The  lion  was  beside 
himself  with  joy ;  and,  after  that,  the  lamb 
was  placed  in  the  cage  every  morning,  and 
only  taken  out  at  night. 


THE  PRINCESS  HILDA.  155 

Then  the  king  invited  all  the  noblemen  in- 
to his  park,  to  see  the  strange  sight  of  a  lion 
and  a  lamb  living  together  in  peace.  And  all 
the  while  Hildegarde  loved  her  shaggy  com- 
panion, and  asked  herself  every  day  how  it 
could  be  that  a  lion  should  have  such  speak- 
ing eyes  and  such  a  tender  heart.  But  she 
almost  believed  that  he  was  a  human  being, 
shut  up,  like  herself,  in  a  cruel  disguise. 

At  last,  when  a  whole  year  had  gone  by, 
the  time  came  for  Hilda  to  be  disenchanted ; 
for  the  good  little  gnomes  had  declared  that 
if  she  could  live  for  a  twelvemonth  in  peace 
with  a  lion,  the  charm  would  then  be  at  an 
end. 

Hilda  did  not  know  this ;  but  awoke  at 
sunrise,  and,  going  to  drink,  saw  the  image 
of  her  old  self  in  the  fountain  ;  and  faint 
voices  repeated  in  chorus  these  lines  :  — 


156  FAIRY  BOOK. 

"  Thrice  welcome,  sweet  Hilda !  the  little  gnomes  saj 
At  sunrise  their  charms  shall  end  ; 
So  go  to  the  lion,  and  open  the  cage  ; 
The  prince  is  your  own  true  friend." 

This  was  so  sudden  and  unexpected  that 
the  happy  Hilda  could  hardly  believe  her 
senses.  She  gazed  at  her  jewelled  fingers  ; 
she  touched  her  velvet  robe.  '^  It  is  Hilde- 
garde/' said  she  dreamily;  ''where  has  she 
stayed  so  long  ?  " 

She  went  to  the  cage  ;  and,  finding  the  key 
hanging  on  the  outside,  would  fain  have  freed 
the  poor  lion,  but  thought  of  the  terror  it 
would  cause  the  sheep  and  deer,  and  dared 
not  do  it. 

She  put  her  soft  white  arms  within  the 
bars,  saying,  — 

"  You  have  been  a  true  friend  to  the  little 
white  Iamb.  She  has  found  her  tongue  again, 
and  can  say  so.  Kind  old  lion,  gentle  pris- 
oner, Hildegarde  will  not  forget  you." 


THE   PRINCESS   HILDA.  157 

The  noble  beast  looked  at  the  disenchanted 
princess,  and  the  next  instant  was  changed 
to  his  true  form ;  and,  in  place  of  a  tawny 
lion,  it  was  the  brave  Prince  Reginald. 
Hilda  blushed  with  joyful  surprise,  and 
w^ould  have  taken  down  the  key  to  unlock  the 
cage,  but  the  prince  said,  — 

^^  Loveliest  Hildegarde,  will  you  be  my 
bride  ?  Speak  before  you  unlock  the  cage  ; 
for,  if  you  say  nay,  Reginald  must  again  be- 
come a  dumb  beast,  and,  as  he  has  been  for  a 
year,  so  will  he  be  for  the  rest  of  his  days." 

Hildegarde  cast  down  her  eyes,  and  an- 
swered, ''If  so  be  the  lion  and  the  lamb 
could  live  side  by  side  for  a  year,  may  not 
Reginald  and  Hilda  dwell  together  in 
peace?" 

''  Then,"  said  the  joyful  Prince  Reginald, 
^'  I   pray   thee  unlock   the    cage." 

Now,  as  they  walked  together  in  the  park. 


158  FAIRY  BOOK. 

the  prince  told  Hildegarde,  that  he  had  loved 
her  for  a  twelvemonth  and  a  day. 

He  described  Hilda's  visit  to  the  cruel  gob- 
lin. He  said  that  he  himself  had  overheard 
the  two  talking  together,  had  ground  his 
teeth,  and  sighed.  Then  the  gnomes,  seeing 
his  grief,  had  come  asking  him  if  he  would  be 
changed  for  a  year,  and  maybe  for  life,  into  a 
lion ;  and  for  Hildegarde's  sake  he  had  gladly 
consented. 

Hearing  all  these  things,  the  grateful  prin- 
cess wept,  and  said,  — 

"  Now  I  know  that  Prince  Reginald  is  my 
own  true  friend." 

The  prince  led  Hilda  to  the  palace,  and 
presented  her  to  the  king  and  queen.  Great 
was  the  wonder,  and  loud  the  rejoicing 
throughout   the   land. 

The  treacherous  Zora  was  seen  no  more, 
but  was  changed  into  a  slender  green  snake ; 


THE  PRINCESS  HILDA.  159 

and  the  king  said  she  deserved  her  fate ; 
*'  for,  mark  you/'  cried  he,  '^  there  is  no  crime 
worse  than  to  play  false  to  those  whom  we 
pretend  to  love." 

But  Prince  Reginald  and  Hildegarde  were 
married,  and  lived  in  peace  all  the  rest  of 
their  lives. 


160  FAIRY   BOOK. 


GOLDILOCKS. 

"  A  king  lived  long  ago, 
In  the  morning  of  the  -world,** 

who  had  two  children,  Despard  and  Goldi- 
locks. They  were  twin  brother  and  sister, 
but  no  more  ahke  than  a  queen-lily  and  a 
nightshade,  a  raven  and  a  dove. 

Goldilocks  was  a  bright  young  damsel, 
with  hair  like  fine  threads  of  gold,  and  a  face 
so  radiant  that  people  questioned  if  the  blood 
in  her  veins  might  not  be  liquid  sunshine. 
Her  eyes  were  as  soft  as  violets ;  and  her 
laugh  was  like  the  music  of  a  spring  robin. 

Despard,  on  the  other  hand,  was  as  melan- 
choly as  an  owl.     His  raven  hair  cast  gloomy 


GOLDILOCKS.  161 

shadows,  and  his  mournful  eyes  pierced  you 
with  a  sudden  sorrow.  He  was  too  low- 
spirited  to  chase  butterflies,  weave  daisy- 
chains,  and  dance  with  Goldilocks  among  the 
flowers.  He  liked  better  to  play  at  a  mimic 
funeral,  and  deck  himself  as  chief  mourner, 
in  a  friar's  robe  with  sable  plumes.  He 
could  never  understand  why  laughing  Goldi- 
locks should  object  to  making  believe  die, 
and  be  buried  in  the  large  jewel-cofier,  which 
stood  for  a  tomb. 

He  always  said  that,  if  he  lived  to  be  a 
man,  he  should  grow  all  the  more  wretched, 
and  creep  over  the  earth  like  a  great  black 
cloud.  When  Despard  spoke  so  hopelessly, 
Goldilocks  paused  in  her  song  or  her  play, 
and  stealthily  brushed  a  rare  tear  from  her 
eye.  She  was  afraid  her  brother's  words 
might  prove  true. 

These  children  lived  in  what  is  called  the 
11 


162  FAIEY   BOOK. 

Golden  Age,  when  the  rivers  flowed  with 
milk  and  wine,  and  yellow  honey  dripped 
from  oak-trees.  Their  childhood  would  prob- 
ably have  lasted  forever ;  but  the  Silver  Age 
came  on,  and  every  thing  was  changed. 
Then,  it  was  sometimes  too  warm,  and  some- 
times too  cold.  People  began  to  live  in 
caves,  and  weave  houses  of  twigs.  The 
king,  their  father,  died,  and  went,  so  it 
was  said,  to  the  ''  Isles  of  the  Blessed." 

The  children  were  shipwrecked  upon  a  for- 
eign shore,  all  because  of  a  sudden  swell 
of  the  ocean.  Here  they  were  desolate  and 
homesick.  The  strange  people  among  whom 
they  had  fallen  did  not  know  they  were  the 
children  of  a  king.  No  one  was  left  to  care 
for  them  but  their  old  nurse,  named  Sibyl. 

This  aged  woman  was  growing  lame,  and 
her  hair  was  gray ;  yet  she  loved  the  twins, 
and  would  spin  all  th©  day  long,  to  buy  black 


GOLDILOCKS.  -  163 

bread  for  them,  and  now  and  then  a  little 
choice  fruit. 

"  Alas,"  she  sighed,  **  alas,  for  the  Golden 
Age,  when  the  forests  had  never  been 
robbed,  when  oxen  were  not  called  to  draw 
the  plough,  and  the  beautiful  earth  laughed, 
and  tossed  up  fruit  and  flowers  without  wait- 
ing to  be  asked  ! " 

The  frocks  that  Sibyl  made  for  Goldilocks 
were  coarse  ;  but  on  fair  spring  days  she 
took  from  the  chest  a  delicate,  rosy  robe,  em- 
broidered with  gold,  and  smiled  to  see  how  it 
adorned  the  child. 

But  as  for  Despard,  she  had  no  hope  that 
he  would  ever  look  well  in  any  thing.  She 
would  part  Goldilocks'  wonderful  hair,  and 
say,— 

"  Old  Sibyl  knows  who  is  her  love ;  she 
knows  who  would  be  glad  to  give  her  pome- 
granates and  grapes,  when  she  is  too  old  to 
spin,  and  too  weak  to  sit  up.'* 


164  FAIRY   BOOK. 

Little    Goldilocks    would    laughingly    re- 

**  And  I  know,  too :  when  I  am  a  woman  I 
shall  weave  a  net  of  my  hatr,  and  fish  up  all 
the  gold  that  has  sunk  to  the  beds  of  the  riv- 
ers. Then  I  know  who  will  have  a  set  of 
hard  gold  teeth,  and  a  silver  rocking-chair." 

"Thou  art  lovely  enough  to  be  a  goddess, 
little  Goldilocks.  And  what  wilt  thou  do 
with  the  rest  of  the  gold  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Despard  shall  have  all  he  can  carry ; 
for  Despard  is  good,  let  people  say  what  they 
may.  And  I  will  have  a  crown  made  for  him, 
with  diamonds  set  in  it  as  plenty  as  plums  in 
a  pudding." 

"  Listen,  my  children,"  said  the  old  Sibyl, 
sadly :  "  there  will  be  no  one  to  give  me 
grapes  and  pomegranates  when  I  am  faint 
and  weak.  I  can  read  by  the  stars  that  you 
are  soon  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage,  and  leave 


GOLDILOCKS.  165 

your  old  nurse  behind.  You  may  well  weep, 
my  good  little  boy :  there  is  to  bie  no  rest  for 
your  feet  till  you  have  travelled  over  the 
whole  world,  from  north  to  south." 

Despard  groaned  aloud ;  but  Goldilocks 
clapped  her  hands  and  laughed.  "  Oh,  let  us 
start  to-night/'  she  cried. 

"  When  the  sun-god  has  made  twelve  jour- 
neys in  his  winged  boat,''  sighed  Sibyl,  "  and 
when  the  young  moon  has  arisen  out  of  the 
ocean,  then  you  may  go." 

And,  at  the  appointed  time,  the  faithful 
nurse,  with  many  tears,  prepared  her  foster- 
children  for  their  long  journey.  She  took 
from  a  worm-eaten  coffer  some  family  heir- 
looms, which  had  been  lying  since  the  days 
of  the  Golden  Age,  enveloped  in  rose-leaves 
and  gold  paper. 

She  placed  in  the  hand  of  Despard  a  dag- 
ger with  a  jewelled  hilt,  a  quiver  of  poisoned 


166  FAIRY  BOOK. 

arrows,  and  a  glittering  sword,  with  a  blade 
sharper  than  a  serpent's  tooth. 

But  to  Goldilocks  she  gave  a  flask  of 
smooth,  fragrant  oil,  a  vase  of  crystal-bright 
water,  and  a  fan  made  of  the  feathers  of  the 
beautiful  bird  of  Paradise. 

Kissing  the  little  pilgrims,  she  said,  — 

"These  gifts  have  been  saved  for  you 
these  many  years  :  use  them  as  an  inward 
voice  shall  whisper  you :  I  give  you  my  bless- 
ing.    The  gods  attend  you  !     Farewell." 

The  children  at  first  walked  on  sorrow- 
fully ;  but  soon  the  gay  spirits  of  Goldilocks 
rebounded,  and  she  waltzed  hither  and  thith- 
er, like  a  morsel  of  thistle-down. 

''  See,  brother,"  said  she,  "  we  almost  fly  ! 
What  a  glorious  thing  it  is  to  go  on  a  pil- 
grimage !  I  am  glad  the  beautiful  Silver 
Age  has  come,  and  Jupiter  has  given  us 
leave  to  take  a  peep  at  the  world  ! " 


GOLDILOCKS.  16T 

'*A11  very  well  for  you  to  say/'  moaned 
Despard  ;  "  you.  flit  about  as  if  you  had 
wings  on  your  feet;  while,  as  for  me,  it  is 
true  I  move  with  equal  speed,  but  so  pain- 
fully that  I  wonder  my  footprints  are  not 
stained  with  blood." 

Soon  the  children  observed,  not  far  off, 
a  party  of  youths  rowing  on  the  bosom  of  a 
lake.  They  sat  in  a  rocking,  unsteady  little 
bark,  but  were  in  gay  spirits,  blowing  bub- 
bles, watching  idle  clouds,  and  throwing  up 
empty  shouts  to  be  caught  up  and  echoed  by 
the  hills. 

"  I  wish  we  had  not  seen  these  happy  peo- 
ple," sighed  Despard;  ^'for,  if  you  can  be- 
lieve me,  sister,  I  really  feel  as  if  I  must  pelt 
them  with  my  arrows." 

So  saying,  little  Despard  began  to  fire  his 
poisonous  darts  at  random. 

"  Why,  brother,"  cried  Goldilocks,  in  alarm, 


168  FAIRY  BOOK. 

"  are  you  possessed  by  the  furies  ?  Take 
care  how  you  aira,  or  you  will  surely  do  mis- 
chief/' 

Even  as  she  spoke,  several  of  the  gay 
youths  dropped  to  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  ap- 
parently wounded.  Their  companions  pushed 
for  the  shore ;  and  Goldilocks  almost  flew,  to 
pour  into  the  red  wounds  her  brother  had 
made  the  smooth  healing  oil  from  her  flask. 

"  Poor  dears,"  said  she,  pitying  their  pain, 
"  I  have  done  my  best ;  and,  see  !  these  ugly 
gashes  are  almost  healed.  I  cannot  promise 
you,  though,  that  they  will  not  leave  scars." 

The  youths  thanked  the  sweet  girl,  and  as- 
sured her  it  was  almost  a  pleasure  to  be 
wounded,  if  one  might  be  nursed  by  such 
gentle  hands  as  hers.  But  as  for  Despard,  it 
was  hardly  strange  that  they  should  look 
upon  the  poor  boy  as  a  wicked  little  highway- 
man ;  or,  at  best,  a  saucy,  careless  fellow. 


GOLDILOCKS.  169 

Some  of  the  older  youths,  however,  patted 
him  on  the  shoulder,  and  said,  ''  For  your 
sweet  sister's  sake  we  can  even  endure 
your  pranks." 

"  Do  not  despise  me,"  said  the  boy,  sadly ; 
"  for  as  I  am  moved,  so  must  I  do.  Not  for 
the  whole  world  would  I  fire  a  poisonous 
arrow,  if  the  mighty  Jove  did  not  compel 
me." 

As  they  walked  on,  Despard,  against  his 
will,  flung  into  the  air  a  quantity  of  winged 
torments,  which  he  found  stowed  away  in  his 
wallet,  such  as  gnats,  wasps,  and  flies. 

"There,  now,"  said  sweet  Goldilocks, 
ready  to  weep,  "  why  could  you  not  look  be- 
fore you,  and  see  those  pretty  children  play- 
ing yonder  in  that  fragrant  meadow  ?  " 

"  I  saw  them,"  said  Despard ;  "  but  what 
good  did  that  do  ?  " 

"  0  brother,  I  wish  the  Golden  Age  would 


170  FAIRT  BOOK. 

come  again,  and  then  you  would  cease  scat- 
tering mischief  and  trouble." 

The  little  ones,  suddenly  stopped  in  their 
play  by  the  army  of  insects,  ran  hither  and 
thither  over  the  meadow,  screaming  with 
pain.  But  Goldilocks  appeared  in  the  midst 
of  them,  with  her  shining  hair,  violet  eyes, 
and  laugh  like  the  music  of  a  spring  robin. 

"  Come  to  me,"  said  she  ;  "  let  me  kiss 
away  the  stings." 

In  a  very  short  space  the  children  were 
soothed,  and  had  forgotten  their  trouble. 
Then  they  threw  their  little  arms  about  Goldi- 
locks' neck,  and  begged  her  to  stay  and  play 
with  them. 

"  Sweet  children,  it  is  my  mission,  —  so  the 
stars  say,  —  to  travel  all  over  this  world, 
from  north  to  south.  But,  for  all  that,  I  will 
frolic  with  you  till  the  sun  sets." 

''Will  the  sad  boy  come  too?  "  asked  the 
children. 


GOLDILOCKS.  171 

Goldilocks  shook  her  bright  curls.  *'  He 
is  planting  a  garden/'  said  she  ;  '^  no  need  to 
ask  him  ;  he  hears  nothing  while  he  is  at 
play,  and  his  games  are  as  solemn  as  mid- 
night." 

The  children  made  believe  that  the  beauti- 
ful Goldilocks,  in  her  rose-colored  dress,  with 
her  beaming  hair  and  flying  feet,  was  a  great 
butterfly,  which  they  were  trying  to  catch. 
Now  here,  now  there,  the  glowing  butterfly 
flitted  from  flower  to  flower,  leading  her  fol- 
lowers a  merry  chase.  Every  child  thought 
to  seize  and  hold  her,  for  a  kiss.  She 
laughed ;  and  the  breezes  danced  with  her 
hair,  like  — 

"  Zephyr  witli  Aurora  playing, 
As  he  met  her  once  a-Maying." 

But  before   any   one    had    kissed    or    even 
touched   her,  she   had   disappeared,  leaving 


172  FAIRY  BOOK. 

the  children  gazing  into  the  air,  and  seeking 
their  late  companion  with  tearful  eyes. 

Goldilocks  had  only  gone  back  to  Despard, 
who  was  still  planting  flower-seeds. 

"  What  a  miserable  game,"  said  Goldi- 
locks ;  ''it  is  worse  than  playing  funeral  I 
Who  thought  you  could  make  flowers  grow  ? 
Our  old  nurse  said  it  was  only  Demeter,  the 
goddess,  who  could  do  that.  Here,  now,  you 
have  called  up  a  bristling  crop  of  thistles 
and  brambles  !  On  my  word,  Despard,  it  is  a 
pity!" 

"  Well,  well,  Goldilocks,  see  what  you  can 
make  of  them.  I  am  doomed  to  work, 
though  I  don't  wish  it ;  and  my  work  is 
always  disagreeable,  though  I  can't  tell 
why !  '^ 

Goldilocks  knelt,  and  blew  on  the  prickly 
plants  with  her  sweet  breath.  By  the  nod- 
ding of  the  next  breeze,  they  were  changed 
to  roses,  violets,  and  hare-bells. 


GOLDILOCKS.  173 

*^It  is  pleasant  to  see  any  thing  smile, 
even  a  flower/'  said  Goldilocks,  laughing  as 
she  spoke. 

"I  think/'  replied  Despard,  "  that  this  is  a 
strange  pilgrimage.  I  believe  our  very 
thoughts  are  alive.  I  wish  I  could  stop 
thinking." 

By  and  by  they  came  to  a  rude  house,  —  as 
fine  a  one,  though,  as  people  in  the  Silver 
Age  had  yet  learned  how  to  build.  Despard 
paused,  and  knocked  gently.  ''Why  linger 
here  ?  "  whispered  his  sister. 

"  I  know  not,"  sighed  the  boy,  "  but  so 
must  I  do." 

*'  How  now,  little  ones  ?  you  startled  me 
so  ! "  cried  a  woman,  opening  the  door  by  the 
width  of  a  crack. 

"Let  us  come  in/'  said  Despard,  sorrow- 
fully; ''we  are  two  little  wanderers;  and  our 
hairs  are  wet  with  night-dews." 


174  FAIRY  BOOK. 

*'  Come  in,  then,  little  ones,  and  welcome ; 
but  never,  at  any  one's  door,  knock  so  loud 
again,"  added  the  woman,  pressing  her  hand 
against  her  heart. 

"  I  only  tapped  with  the  ends  of  my  fin- 
gers," said  the  boy. 

"  Ah,"  said  the  woman,  "  it  was  louder  to 
me  than  thunder."  Then,  after  she  had  set 
before  them  a  supper  of  bread  and  milk,  she 
rocked  her  baby,  and  sang  to  it  a  sweet  cradle- 
song  about  mother  Juno  j,nd  high  Olympus. 

The  children  lay  down  on  beds  of  rushes ; 
and  Goldilocks,  soothed  by  the  lullaby,  fell 
asleep  ;  but  soon  awoke,  and  saw  her  brother 
leaning,  on  tiptoe,  over  the  osier  basket. 
The  baby's  face  looked,  in  the  moonlight, 
white  and  pinched;  and  its  sick  hands  were 
pressed  together  like  two  withered  rose- 
leaves. 

^'  Let  me  kiss  him,"  whispered  Goldilocks 


GOLDILOCKS.  175 

smiling.  But  bitter  tears  rolled  down  Des- 
pard's  cheeks.  Drawing  his  little  sword 
from  its  sheath,  he  pricked  the  baby's-  heart 
till  one  red  drop,  the  life-drop,  stained  the 
steel.     The  sick  baby  ceased  to  breathe. 

''  0  Despard,  what  have  you  done?"  cried 
Goldilocks,  seizing  his  arm. 

"I  know  not,"  said  the  boy;  "but  as  my 
heart  moves  me,  so  must  I  do." 

Hearing  voices,  the  mother  awoke,  and,  as 
her  habit  was,  turned  at  once  to  the  cradle. 
The  baby  lay  there  beautiful  and  still ;  the 
pinched  look  gone,  and  its  furrowed  brow 
smoothed  into  a  baby's  smile.  The  mother 
wept  bitterly. 

"Ah,  little  stranger,"  said  she,  turning  to 
Despard,  "  I  knew  you  when  I  let  you  in. 
Why  did  I  open  the  door  for  you  ?  " 

"  Poor  mother,"  said  the  boy  sorrowfully, 
"  if  you  had  not  opened  the  door,  I  must  have 
come  in  by  the  window." 


176  FAIRY  BOOK. 

But  Groldilocks  threw  her  soft  arms  about 
the  woman's  neck,  and  comforted  her  till  it 
was  morning,  and  the  '^  gilded  car  of  day " 
had  risen  from  the  ocean.  The  tears  on  her 
cheeks  she  dried  with  her  fan,  made  of  magi- 
cal feathers. 

When  the  children  set  out  again  on  their 
journey,  the  woman  gave  Goldilocks  a  loving 
kiss,  and  then  embraced  Despard,  saying, — 

"  For  the  sake  of  your  sweet  sister,  I  love 
even  you." 

"  Poor  little  brother,''  said  Goldilocks  when 
they  had  gone  farther  on  their  journey,  "  you 
are  as  good  as  I ;  but  how  is  it  ?  you  make 
people  weep,  while  I  must  go  with  you  to 
dry  the  tears  you  call  forth." 

''I  am  a  black  cloud,"  groaned  Despard, 
*^you  a  sunbeam." 

'*  But  I  like  to  have  a  cloud  to  shine  on," 
said  loving  li4:tle  Goldilocks. 


GOLDILOCKS.  177 

Footsore  and  weary,  the  little  pilgrims 
travelled  on ;  and,  when  they  had  gone  from 
north  to  south,  and  back  again,  the.  Sihylmet 
them  with  tender  kisses;  and;  when  they 
were  refreshed,  bade  them  go  forth  again; 

<?  For,"  said  she,  ^'  this  Avorld  is  always 
new,  my  dears.  The  people  who  are  born  to- 
day were  not  here  yesterday ;  and  every 
mortal  must  see  the  faces  of  my  foster-chil- 
dren." 

It  was  now  the  Brazen  Age,  and  Despard 
and  Goldilocks  had  grown  to  be  a  youth  and 
maiden ;  but  still  they  travelled  on.  The 
Iron  Age  came ;  and  Despard's  raven  hair 
was  frosted  ;  but  Goldilocks'  curls  never 
faded.  Let  her  live  as  long  as  live  she  may, 
she  can  never  grow  old. 

Their  pilgrimage  is  not  over  yet ;  nor  will 
it  bo  while  the  earth  revolves  about  the  sun,. 

12 


178  FxURY   BOOK. 

The  brother  and  sister  come  to  every  liouse  ; 
they  knock  at  every  door. 

To  all  the  children  who  open  their  eyes 
upon  the  light,  come  Despard  and  Goldilocks, 
the  bitter  and  the  sweet  of  life,  the  twin  an- 
gels of  HapjDiness  and  Sorrow. 


THE    END. 


^ 


YA  044C3 


i\^247B99 


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y 


C<^99 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


